Super Meowio
by Erin T. Aardvark
Summary: The Mario Bros. and their friends visit a town taken over by King Koopa, and help the governor's kids (and their pet cat) take it back. Based on "The Super Mario Bros. Super Show" 1989 cartoon canon. Dumb title, I know, but it stays until I can come up with something better. WARNING: LuigixOC, so if you don't like that, better not read it.
1. Portobello Port

_AUTHOR'S NOTE: Forgive the dumb title, it's the only thing I could come up with. Anyway, this story's canon is based on the 1989 cartoon series, "The Super Mario Bros. Super Show" (that was the series with Captain Lou Albano as Mario, for those of you keeping score). I read somewhere that the show is not in the same canon as the games. Since I've never played the games, the cartoon is what I know best, hence why the characters are referred to as Princess Toadstool and King Koopa. Anyway, Mario, Luigi, Princess Toadstool, Toad, and King Koopa and his minions belong to Nintendo. Phyllis Portobello, Puffball the cat, the city of Portobello Port, and any other incidental characters belong to me. Franky Portobello is a gray area, considering he's an expy of Fluid Man from the Hanna-Barbera cartoon "The Impossibles."_

* * *

 _Plumber's Log Number 6-2-0-7_

 _We had warped to Portobello Port, which had one of the biggest wharves in the entire Mushroom Kingdom. Deliveries to the Mushroom Kingdom had stopped suddenly, and we were there to investigate the cause. Little did we know what was in store for us here._

* * *

Upon exiting the warp pipe, the Mario Brothers, Princess Toadstool, and their friend, Toad, walked around the docks of the seaport town of Portobello Port, and found the docks completely empty. There were no workers loading cargo onto ships. As a matter of fact, there weren't even any ships docked in the harbor!

"Boy, this place is emptier than my stomach!" Mario shouted.

"Maybe they all went home," Luigi said. "After all, it _is_ night time."

"Something's not right here," the Princess said, looking around. "The docks here are always busy, day or night. And there are always boats in the harbor."

"Yeah, this place is always filled with big men with big muscles!" Toad shouted.

Toad flexed his arms, trying to show off his muscles, and then ran to a crate laying on the dock. He grunted as he tried to pick it up, and managed to lift it over his head.

"Ta-da!" he cheered. Unfortunately, the crate turned out to be too heavy for him.

"Whoa!" he shouted, as the crate fell, and smashed to pieces when it landed on the little mushroom.

"Toad!" Princess Toadstool shouted, as she and the Mario Brothers ran over to the destroyed crate and began digging through it to pull Toad out.

"Oh, Toad, are you all right?" the Princess asked.

"Sailing, sailing, doodle-dee-doot-doo-doo . . . ." Toad sang, dazedly, as his eyes turned into two spinning spirals, and stars circled around his head.

"I think he'll live," Mario said.

"What do you think happened to all the people who work down here?" Luigi asked.

"I don't know," the Princess said. "But I know where we can find out. Let's go to the governor's mansion. He's sure to know what's going on."

The quartet left the wharf, and walked through the city, though it appeared to be deserted as well. There were no lights on in any of the buildings, and no one was on the streets.

"Holy macaroni!" Luigi shouted. "This place is like a ghost town!"

"Guess that means we won't be getting anything to eat for awhile," Mario said.

"How can you think of eating at a time like this?" Toad asked.

"Maybe it keeps his mind off of how creepy this place is," Luigi said, shuddering a little.

The foursome continued to make their way through the streets until they came across a large mansion surrounded by a stone wall and iron gate.

"Uh oh!" Mario shouted, and he suddenly dove into a nearby bush.

"What's up, dude?" Toad asked.

"Look what's crawled outta the waterworks," Mario said, pointing towards the gate. "Koopa Troopas!"

Sure enough, standing at the iron gate were several Koopa Troopas, each holding long, pointed spears, obviously on the lookout for intruders. Immediately, Luigi, Toad, and the Princess ducked into the bushes before they could be spotted.

"Where there are Koopa Troopas, there's King Koopa," the Princess said.

"That would explain why no one's around," Mario said. "King Koopa must have captured them. I'll bet he's taken over Portobello Port."

Before anyone could say anything more, a light came on from the large house, and King Koopa stormed out onto a balcony. Our heroes ducked down to avoid being seen.

"After them!" King Koopa shouted. "Don't let them escape!"

"You think they spotted us already?" Luigi asked.

"I don't know, but I'm not taking chances!" Toad shouted. "Run for it!"

Immediately, Mario and his friends began running toward a wooded area behind the mansion. But as it turned out, Koopa hadn't spotted them at all. Instead, he was after someone else. A large search light began sweeping the grounds of the mansion, barely missing two figures. They were humans, one being a blond-haired girl in her early twenties, and the other being a black-haired teenage boy. The boy was carrying a white cat wearing a pink collar with a mushroom shaped tag in his arms. The two humans leaned against the side of the mansion as the light swept by. Once it was gone, the girl stepped out, and motioned for the boy to follow her, and they ran toward the back of the mansion. They raced to another gate, which was unguarded. The girl opened it, and the boy ran through it immediately. After the girl ran through, she saw the Koopa Troopas, headed by Mouser, coming at them. Immediately, she closed the gate, and she and the boy ran toward a wooded area behind the mansion. Unfortunately for Mouser, he crashed into the gate, and the Koopa Troopas crashed into him, and they all fell to the ground.

"You nincomkoops!" Koopa shouted. "Get after them! Don't let them get away!"

"Right away, your Koopa-ness!" Mouser shouted, as he opened the gate. He and the Koopa Troopas raced after the girl and boy.

In the meantime, the Mario gang stopped running for a moment, and realized no one was chasing them.

"We must've lost them," Mario said.

"I think you spoke too soon!" Luigi shouted. "Someone's coming!"

"Up here, quick!" Toad shouted, and he climbed a nearby tree.

Mario and Luigi pulled out their plumbers snakes, hooked the branch Toad was sitting on, and climbed up, with the Princess following closely behind. Once they were safe, they saw who was coming, and it turned out to be the girl and the boy from the mansion.

"Those aren't the Koopa Troopas," Mario said.

"But those sure are!" Toad shouted, as Mouser and the Koopa Troopas approached. Much to the amazement of Mario and the others, they passed the tree completely.

"Get after zose two!" Mouser shouted. "Make sure zey don't get away!"

"Hey!" Toad shouted. "What gives?"

"They weren't after us after all," the Princess said. "They must be after that girl and boy that ran past!"

"Come on!" Mario shouted, and he began swinging from tree branch to tree branch with his plumber's snake. "Whoever they are, they might need our help!"

"I was afraid he was gonna say that," Luigi said, but he followed his brother, anyway.


	2. Phyllis, Franky, and Puffball

By swinging from tree branch to tree branch, the Mario gang was able to avoid being seen by Mouser and the Koopa Troopas. By sheer luck, they managed to make it ahead of the boy and girl that they were chasing. By this time, however, the two were beginning to slow down.

"I don't know if I can keep this up, sis!" the boy shouted, breathlessly.

"We have to keep running!" the girl shouted. "If we stop now, those terrible turtle-things will catch us!"

"Easier said than done! They're gaining on us!"

The two siblings immediately began running as fast as they could, not paying attention to where they were going. They were more focused on getting away. If they had been paying attention, the boy would have noticed a surfaced tree root directly in his path. Unfortunately, he missed it completely, and tripped over it.

"Whoa!" he shouted.

"Meeee-yoooowwww!" the cat he was carrying cried, as she went flying through the air. Luckily she landed on her feet. The boy wasn't so lucky, and he landed flat on his stomach.

"Franky!" the girl shouted, as she stopped and saw her brother fall, and she ran to him. "Franky, are you all right?"

"I think so," Franky said. "Only my foot's caught in this tree root! Keep going, those turtle things will be here any second!"

"No, I can't leave you here to be captured and taken back to that dragon!"

"It's not gonna do any good if both of us are captured! One of us _has_ to get away and get help!"

The girl stood up hesitantly, and began running, but came to a dead end shortly afterward. She turned around, and saw the Koopa Troopas closing in on her brother. She knew if she went to help him, she'd only be captured herself.

"Oh, what am I going to do?" she asked.

"Hey, grab onto my hands, lady!" a high-pitched voice called out from above.

The girl looked up, and saw a little mushroom-person. His feet were being held by a mustachioed man in red overalls, who was in turn being held by the feet by a mustachioed man in green overalls, who was hanging onto the tree branch by his feet. It was the Mario gang, and they had formed some sort of ladder.

"Who . . . . or rather, _what_ are you?" the girl asked.

"Never mind that now!" Toad shouted. "Just grab my hands!"

The girl immediately grabbed Toad's hands. Once she did, the Princess helped the group climb onto the tree branch.

"Thank you," the girl said. "But my brother . . . . he's still back there!"

"Don't worry, miss," Mario said. "I've got it taken care of!"

Mario pulled out his plumber's snake and swung back toward where Franky was surrounded by Mouser and the Koopa Troopas. The others followed behind him.

"Looks like it's ze end of ze line for you, little boy!" Mouser shouted.

"Who're you calling 'little boy,' limburger breath?!" Franky shouted, taking a handful of dirt and throwing it in Mouser's face.

"Aaaack!" Mouser shouted. "Zat does it! Get him!"

Before the Koopa Troopas could descend on the boy, the cat he had been carrying jumped in front of him with her back arched, ears flat, tail puffed up, fur standing on end, and claws bared. She looked directly at Mouser, and hissed at him.

"Oh no!" Mouser shouted, sarcastically. "Oh help! I'm being attacked by an itty bitty kitty cat in a cute little pink collar! Oh somebody save me! Save me from ze cute little kitty!"

Mouser began laughing hysterically at the thought of cute little kitty cat going to attack him. The cat growled, hissed, and jumped on Mouser, clawing at biting at him with such fury, even the Koopa Troopas were surprised, and a bit intimidated.

"Get zis fleabag off me!" Mouser shouted.

Franky took this moment to finally manage to get his foot free of the tree root. However, instead of running off, he just sat there, watching Mouser get pummeled by a cat.

"Psst! Hey kid!" a voice whispered.

"Who said that?" Franky asked, looking up, and seeing Mario standing on a tree branch, lowering his plumber's snake.

"I did," the mustachioed plumber said. "Quick, grab this!"

Franky immediately grabbed the snake, and climbed up the tree. Once he was safely on the branch, his sister pulled him into her arms, and gave him the biggest hug she could.

"Oh Franky!" she shouted. "I'm so happy you're all right!"

"Me too, sis!" Franky shouted, returning his sister's hug. Then he pulled away abruptly, and looked back down on the ground. "Wait a minute, what about Puffball?"

"Puffball?" Mario asked.

"She's my cat," Franky said. "And she . . . ."

Before Franky could continue, Mouser finally managed to shake the cat loose, and wound up flinging her into the tree, head first.

"Mee-yow!" the cat cried, too dazed to even move.

"I'll teach you, you overgrown cotton ball!" Mouser shouted, pulling a sword out, and walking toward the cat, ready to skewer her.

"Puffball!" Franky shouted, in extreme panic.

"Don't worry, paisano," Mario said. "I'll get your cat for ya."

Immediately, Mario jumped out of the tree, onto Mouser's sword, and then to the ground. When Mario jumped off Mouser's sword, it began vibrating.

"Hey, Mouser!" Mario shouted. "You got a lot of nerve picking on a poor, defenseless, little kitty! Why dontcha pick on someone your own size?!"

"You mean like you, you pesky plumber?" Mouser asked. "Troopas! Attack!"

The Koopa Troopas growled, and immediately ran toward Mario with their spears, ready to puncture Mario like a balloon.

"I can't look!" Luigi shouted, covering his eyes.

Before the Troopas could do anything, Mario grabbed a fire flower. In a flash, his red overalls and cap turned white, and his blue shirt turned red.

"It's Super Mario!" the Princess cheered.

"Now we're gonna see some real action!" Toad shouted.

Immediately, Mario began to throw fireballs at Mouser and the Koopa Troopas, as if his fingers were pistols. The Troopas immediately began panicking, and started their retreat.

"Now that's what I call having a hot time in the ol' town tonight!" Franky shouted.

Mario threw one last fireball, and it hit Mouser directly in the tail, which sizzled down directly to his rear end.

"YEEEEOOOOOWWWWW!" he yelled, jumping about five feet in the air. "Retreat! Retreeeaaat!"

"Yaaaaaahhhhhh!" the Troopas shouted, and they, along with Mouser, raced back to the mansion.

"And don't come back!" Mario shouted, picking up the cat, and petting her. "Imagine that big bully picking on a cute little gattina like you!"

"Meow!" Puffball cried happily, and she began licking Mario's face.

"Hey, stop that!" Mario said, laughing. "Cut it out already! What do I look like? A plate of tuna spaghetti? Come on, now, quit it!"

"She's just thanking you, Mario," the Princess said, as she and the others began climbing down the tree.

"Yeah, and I really appreciate it, too," Franky said, holding his arms open. Puffball meowed, and immediately jumped into them. She rubbed her head against her teenage master's, and purred.

"She's my best friend, after all," Franky said, pressing his cheek against his cat's, causing her to purr even louder. "I don't know what I'd do without her!"

"You're both welcome," Mario said, scratching Puffball behind her ears. Then he looked up at the tree branch, and found Luigi and Franky's sister were still sitting on it.

"You can come down now, Luigi!" he called. "The coast is clear!"

"You sure?" Luigi asked.

"Yeah, those Troopas flew the coop-a!" Toad shouted.

"All right, I guess," Luigi said, gulping slightly.

Before Luigi could get started climbing down, the branch broke, and he and the blond girl fell. Luigi landed right on his backside, and the girl landed right in his lap.

"Ooof!" he groaned, as his hat fell over his eyes.

"Sorry," the girl said, sheepishly.

"Glad you could drop in, sis," Franky said. "Ha, ha!"

"Very funny!" the girl shouted, glaring at her brother.

"Yeah, very funny!" Luigi shouted, pulling off his hat so he could see. Once he did, he turned to the girl. "And as for you, next time, wouldja watch where you're . . . . you're . . . ."

Luigi suddenly trailed off. This was the first time he was able to get a good look at this girl. Everything around him became hazy. This was quite possibly the prettiest girl he had ever seen. He found he couldn't look away from her, as if Mario and the others weren't even there.

"Ravishing ravioli . . . ." was the first thing out of his mouth.

"Excuse me?" the girl asked, a little confused.

"I mean . . . . . uhhh . . . . I mean . . . ." Luigi stammered, trying to stand up, but he had forgotten the girl was on his lap, so when he got up, she fell off.

"Oooh!" she shouted.

"Oh, uhhh, sorry about that," Luigi said. "Here, let me help you."

The girl took Luigi's hand, and the plumber felt a shiver run up his spine, though it was different than the usual shivers he got up his spine when he was crossing paths with Koopa and his army. The girl stood up, and looked at Luigi, and suddenly felt something strange herself. She found herself suddenly smiling at Luigi, and she couldn't seem to stop, or look away from him, or let go of his hand. She could almost hear the love theme from "Romeo and Juliet" playing.

"Thank you," she said.

"My pleasure, Miss . . . . uhhh, Miss . . . ." Luigi said.

"Phyllis," the girl said. "Phyllis Portobello."

"Phyllis Portobello," Luigi repeated. "That is a very lovely name."

"Oh brother," Franky mumbled under his breath, as he rolled his eyes. "Hey, Phyllis, can we cut out the disgusting, mushy stuff, already? I'm getting sick to my stomach here!"

"Oh, Franky!" Phyllis shouted, glaring at her brother with her hands on her hips.

"Anyway, thanks for helping us," Franky said, turning to Mario and the others. He knew he had to change the subject quick, before his sister had a chance to clobber him.

"Yes," Phyllis said. "I don't know what we would have done if you hadn't stepped in."

"Hey, no problem, ma'am," Mario said, tipping his hat. "All part of our job. We're the Mario Brothers. I'm Mario, and that's my brother, Luigi, whom you've obviously already met."

"Yeah, accidentally, that is," Luigi said. "Ah heh heh heh. Eeehhh."

"And I'm Princess Toadstool of the Mushroom Kingdom," the Princess said. "And this is my friend, Toad."

"Hi," Toad said. "So why were those Koopa Droopas after you two, anyway?"

"Well, my name is Phyllis Portobello, and this is my brother, Franky, and his cat, Puffball," Phyllis said.

"Hiya," Franky said. Puffball meowed and nodded her head.

"And those creeps were after us because we were trying to escape from that awful King Koopa," Phyllis continued.

"And let me tell ya something, it's embarrassing having to escape from your own house!" Franky shouted.

"You live in the governor's mansion?" Mario asked.

"Yeah, our dad's the governor of Portobello Port," Franky said.

"At least he was," Phyllis said, looking down at her hands. "Before . . . ."

"Before Koopa showed up, right?" Toad asked. Phyllis nodded.

"What happened?" the Princess asked. "And where is the governor?"

"We don't know," Franky said. "He got a letter saying there was trouble elsewhere in the Mushroom Kingdom, and several cities needed as many supplies as possible, so he had to take the whole fleet. Since this was such a big job, he took most of the guards with him, leaving only a few behind to guard the mansion. That's when ol' Dragon Breath showed up with his army."

"Not only were those turtle things with him, but he also had these weird birds that could shoot eggs from their beaks, but the eggs were more like cannon balls. And he also had mushrooms with sharp teeth, and another fleet of birds, short little guys wearing cloaks . . . ."

"Some of which wearing masks that could shoot bullets from them," Franky said. "And some that could fly. He also had walking bombs, and a three headed snake!"

"Leapin' lasagna!" Luigi shouted. "Sounds like Koopa brought his entire league of minions for this one!"

"No kidding," Mario said. "But let me ask you two something. If you're the governor's kids, couldn't you have done anything to stop him?"

"We tried," Phyllis said. "Unfortunately, Franky and I don't have as much pull as our father does . . . . or did."

"Yeah, we were pretty much sitting ducks," Franky said.

"When Koopa took over, he turned me into his scullery maid, and Franky into a stable boy," Phyllis said.

"And trust me, that's not a very glamorous job!" Franky shouted. "Especially after those turtle things overfeed them, which is pretty much every day. Not a pretty picture."

"Me- _yeeccchhhh_!" Puffball shouted, holding one of her paws over her nose to drive in the point.

"Yeah, I get the message," Toad said, looking a little green. "Pee-yew!"

"He's also turned everyone who lives here into slaves," Phyllis went on.

"What about your dad?" Toad asked. "What's gonna happen when he gets back from this trip of his?"

"That's part of the trouble," Franky said. "We heard there was this huge storm in Ocean World, and his ship got caught in it, and sank."

"We don't even know if Father is still alive or not," Phyllis said.

"How awful!" the Princess shouted.

"At least we managed to get away," Franky said. "But we don't know where to go for help now, since everybody left in town is a slave."

"Well then, it's a good thing you ran into us!" Mario shouted. "We're practically experts on Koopa extermination!"

"You are?" Franky asked.

"We are?" Luigi repeated.

"Sure we are!" Mario shouted. "After all the times we've dealt with him before, this shouldn't make much of a difference. We'll help you guys out!"

"You will?" Phyllis asked.

"We will?" Luigi repeated, sounding a little nervous. Before he could say anything more, Phyllis suddenly hugged him.

"Oh, thank you!" she shouted. "Thank you so much!"

"Eeeehhhhh . . . ." Luigi said, suddenly becoming weak in the knees. "You're welcome."


	3. The Set Up

By this time, Mouser and the Koopa Troopas were making their way back to the governor's mansion, burned, bruised, scratched, and singed. They were not looking forward to telling King Koopa about this. He hated to receive bad news, but Mouser knew he had to tell him, anyway. He gulped, and walked up the spiral staircase to the second floor study, which Koopa was using as his throne room.

"Well?" he asked, when he saw Mouser enter the room. "Where are the old governor's brats?!"

"Well, your mean-ness . . . ." Mouser said, a bit hesitantly. "I'm afraid zey . . . . got away."

"Got away?!" Koopa shouted. "How could they get away?! There were only two of them, and about a dozen Troopas! They were outnumbered!"

"Well," Mouser said, "ze little boy had zis cat, see, and it practically clawed me to death!"

"A cat?" Koopa asked. "You mean that little white furball the governor's bratty son is always carrying around? A _little kitty cat_?! How could you let yourself get beaten up by a little kitty cat?!"

"But your greatness, zis was no ordinary little kitty cat! I swear, it's some kind of demon kitty!"

"Who cares, chowder head?!"

Koopa then bopped Mouser on the head with his fist.

"I can't believe you let this happen, you rotten rodent!" he shouted. "What else could go wrong?!"

"Well, zey really didn't get away wizout some help, to tell you the truth," Mouser continued. "You see, zey ran into . . . . into . . . . zuhmurrobrozes . . . ."

"The _what_?!" Koopa shouted. "Stop mumbling and just tell me already!"

"Ze Mario Bruzzers," Mouser said. Then he squeezed his eyes shut, and waited for Koopa to explode, and hit him multiple times.

" _WHAAAAAAAT?!_ " Koopa screamed at the top of his voice. The force of the scream sent Mouser directly out of the room, and into the wall across the hallway.

 _CRASH!_

"Strike!" Mouser shouted, dazedly. "Uuuuggggghhhhh . . . . ."

"I can't stand it!" Koopa shouted, as he began picking up objects, and throwing them at the wall in frustration. "I just! Can't! _Stand it!_ Why do those pesky plumbers always, always, _always_ hafta show up and ruin everything?! _RAAAAUUUUGGGGHHHH!_ "

Koopa picked up a large, ceramic vase, and hurled it against the wall. Mouser saw it coming, and ducked. Unfortunately, it hit him anyway. Koopa took a couple of deep breaths, and tried to calm himself down, but it wasn't easy.

"I'll get the best of those drain brains if it's the last thing I do!" he shouted, and he began to think about what he was going to do. Then he snapped his fingers.

"I've got it!" he shouted. "Send the Beezos after them! And tell them not to come back without the governor's kids, and Princess Toadstool! If the Mario Brothers are here, then _she's_ bound to be here, too."

"But why Princess Toadstool along with the governor's children?" Mouser asked.

"Because I said so, you lame brain! Now get going!"

"Right away, your Koopa-ness!"

And with that, Mouser raced out of the room in order to alert Koopa's Beezo army.

Meanwhile, Mario and the gang were also contemplating their next move. Mario had taken a stick and drew out a diagram of the governor's mansion on the ground, along with the stone wall that surrounded it. Franky was holding Mario's flashlight so they could see what they were doing.

"Okay, we know the Koopa Troopas will be surrounding the front gate," Mario said, drawing some Troopa representatives. "So going through there is out of the question."

"Yeah man," Franky said. "And going in through the back gate is a no-go, too. After Phyl and I escaped through there, Dragon Breath's probably gonna have it guarded as well."

"How about going over the wall?" Mario asked. "That might work."

"But how would we do that?" Phyllis asked.

"We could pole vault," Mario said.

"Over a thirteen foot wall?" Franky asked. "You gotta be kidding me! Maybe we could climb up."

"I don't think that would work," Phyllis said. "It's a pretty smooth wall. There's nothing to hold onto."

"We could use our plungers," Mario said.

"But the Troopas might hear us sticking and unsticking the plungers from the wall," the Princess said.

"Well, what about going under the fence?" Phyllis suggested. "You know, dig our way in?"

"Gotta shovel, sis?" Franky asked, giving his sister a look.

"No, but I know where I can get one," Phyllis said. "From the gardener's tool shed in the backyard."

"Backyard of the mansion, huh?" Franky asked. "You know that means we have to get inside, and past the Troopas first."

"Oh yeah," Phyllis said, sheepishly.

"Uh huh," Franky said, knowingly.

"Going under may not be the best possible way in, either," the Princess said. "My guess is Koopa's increased the number of Troopas around the mansion after he found out you two . . . ."

"Meow!" Puffball shouted, sounding offended.

"Sorry, I meant after you _three_ escaped," the Princess continued, giving Puffball's forehead a tickle. "I'm pretty sure not only would he have the front and back gates being guarded, but everywhere on the mansion grounds as well."

"Maybe Puffball could sneak in undetected," Franky said. "She _is_ small enough to get through the bars on the front gate, and fast enough to run past those Koopa Troopas without being seen."

"Yeah, that's a good idea," Toad said. "But how is she gonna get the rest of us in? She ain't tall enough to reach the lock on the gate!"

"She could jump," Franky said. "Puffball's a champ at it! Cats can jump up to eight feet high!"

"Yeah, but even if she could reach the gate by jumping," Toad went on, "she couldn't unlock the gate, because cats ain't got opposable thumbs!"

"Oh yeah," Franky said, a little sheepishly.

"Besides, I'm small enough to get in undetected!" Toad shouted. "And I'm a pretty high jumper, too!"

"Yeah, but you're also noisy," Mario said. "You always make this squeaking sound when you jump."

"I do not!" Toad shouted. "I'll prove it to you!"

With that Toad began to jump up and down, and his feet did indeed make squeaking sounds as he landed. Mario gave him a look that simply said "told ya so."

"Okay, okay," he said. "So maybe I do. I guess that's not gonna work, either."

"Well, I'm all out of ideas," Mario said. "You got any, Luigi?"

Luigi didn't answer. As a matter of fact, he wasn't even paying any attention to what was going on. The only thing he was paying attention to was Phyllis.

"Yo! Earth to Luigi!" Mario shouted, waving his hand in front of his brother's face. "Hello? Anyone in there? Hey, wake up, spaghetti head!"

Luigi didn't even acknowledge his brother. He just kept right on staring at Phyllis with a dreamy look on his face. There were times when Phyllis caught him looking at her. When she did, she just giggled, and smiled back at him.

"The lights are on, but nobody's home," Mario said, rolling his eyes.

"Man, all he's doing is sitting there making goo-goo eyes at my sister," Franky said, making a face.

"Yeah, and when your sister catches him looking at her," Mario said, "she giggles like a schoolgirl, smiles, and makes goo-goo eyes right back at him! What's with them, anyway?"

"Oh, I don't know," the Princess said. "I think it's kind of cute."

"Yeah, cute," Toad said. "Cute and disgusting! _Bleah_!"

Toad blew a raspberry to emphasize his point. Puffball turned toward him, and growled a little, to show her displeasure at his attitude.

"It's obvious they like each other," the Princess said.

"So what?" Mario asked. "I like Phyllis, too, but you don't see me making goo-goo eyes at her like Luigi's doing!"

"No, Mario," the Princess said. "I mean they _like_ each other."

"Yeah, as in Cupid's arrow struck a couple of suckers," Toad said. "All that mushy stuff. Yuck!"

"Toad!" the Princess shouted.

"Well, I'm not crazy about all that mushy stuff myself," Franky said, "but I think you may have something there, Princess. I mean, look at them."

"Yeah, I see what you mean," Mario said. "They're acting like something straight out of an old, romantic movie."

Puffball heaved a heavy sigh, as if she were saying "how romantic." You could practically see little hearts floating above her head at the mere thought of it.

"Yucko, patooey!" Toad shouted, making a face.

"What's say we let these two lovebirds have a little time to themselves?" Mario said, ignoring Toad for the moment.

"But what about Koopa?" Toad asked. "And kicking his scaly tail out of Portobello Port?"

"I think the four of us can manage without them," Mario said. "What do you say, Franky?"

"I say let's do it," Franky said. "And I got just the thing."

Franky gathered Mario, Toad, the Princess, and Puffball into a huddle, and began whispering his plan. The others agreed to it, and went back to what they were doing, though Puffball walked over to Luigi, and began pawing at his leg, and meowing, which broke Luigi out of his thoughts.

"Huh?" he asked. He looked down at saw Puffball meowing at him. He smiled at her, and rubbed the side of her head. "Hey there, kitty."

Puffball continued meowing, and walked toward a path that lead further into the woods, pointing to it with her paw.

"Yo, Franky!" Luigi shouted. "What's the matter with your cat, here? She need to use the litter box, or what?"

"Maybe she thinks there's something down that path," Franky said. "Matter of fact, I think I heard something, too. Maybe Puffball wants to check it out."

"Okay, so go check it out," Phyllis said. "She's your cat, after all."

"Awww, but Phywwis!" Franky shouted, in a baby-talk tone. Then he rested his head on Princess Toadstool's shoulder. "I wanna stay here wiff da pwetty pwincess!"

"Oh, _hon_ estly, Franky!" Phyllis shouted, rolling her eyes. "For a sixteen-year-old, you can be _such_ a baby! Fine, I'll go check it out."

"Well, I don't think you should go by yourself," the Princess said. "Even if you're with Puffball, I think someone else should go with you."

"Good idea, Princess," Mario said. "Luigi, you go with her."

"Me?!" Luigi shouted. "But . . . . but why me?!"

"Why not you?" Mario asked. "Come on, how bad can it be? Besides, you saw what Puffball did to Mouser. She'll protect you if you get into trouble. Besides, she wants you to."

Luigi was about to argue, when he felt a tug at the leg of his overalls. There was Puffball, tugging at Luigi's overalls with her teeth, and looking up at him with the biggest, saddest looking kitty eyes he had ever seen.

"Meoooowwwww," she said, in a pleading sort of way. Luigi groaned. He couldn't resist the cuteness.

"Oh all right, already, I'll go," he said. "Just get her to stop looking at me like that, she's killing me!"

"At ease, Puffball," Franky said.

The white cat stood on her hind legs, and saluted her master. Then she led Luigi and Phyllis down the pathway. Once they were gone, Mario and Franky gave each other a knowing wink, and they got back to work plotting their next move.

Puffball ran ahead of Luigi and Phyllis, and they followed her to a clearing. Once the two humans arrived, Puffball made herself scarce.

"Puffball!" Phyllis called out. "Here kitty, kitty, kitty, kitty!"

"Come out, come out wherever you are!" Luigi shouted.

"If we don't find that cat, my brother will kill me!"

"She's gotta be around here somewhere."

Luigi and Phyllis continued looking around, until they noticed exactly where Puffball had led them. The clearing had a small waterfall that flowed into a small pool of water where the reflection of the moon practically danced. Pink cherry blossom trees surrounded the pool, and fireflies were flickering. It was like something out of a fairytale. The spot Puffball had led the couple to was where many people in Portobello Port went to on dates, and Phyllis knew it.

"You know, I get the feeling we've been set up," she said.

"You know, I get the feeling you're right," Luigi said.

"And I know _exactly_ who set us up. My brother."

"And I wouldn't put it past my brother to be in on the set up. The only thing missing from this scenario is the romantic, candle lit, spaghetti dinner."

Luigi and Phyllis heard a grumble in the bushes. When they looked, they saw Puffball hiding there, and snapping her toes like they were human fingers, as if she were saying "darn it, I knew we forgot something!" When she noticed the two humans looking at her, she darted further into the bushes to hide. Luigi and Phyllis began laughing.

"Even my brother's cat is in on it," Phyllis said.

"Oh boy," Luigi said. "I tell ya, our brothers are something else, aren't they?"

"They sure are," Phyllis said. "But it _was_ kind of sweet of them. I'd hate to spoil it for them. Considering we're being watched."

"We are?"

Phyllis pointed over to the bushes. There was Puffball, watching the two of them. When she realized she was spotted, she ducked down again, trying to hide. Luigi and Phyllis couldn't help but laugh. They decided to forget about being watched, and make the most of the atmosphere.


	4. Disaster Date

Luigi and Phyllis walked through the clearing, not really saying anything to each other. It was a beautiful starlit night, and Luigi was afraid he was going to spoil things if he said anything, anyway.

"Come here, Luigi," Phyllis said, as she started crossing the pool by the waterfall, using a series of stepping stones. "I want to show you something."

"Sure," Luigi said, and he started crossing the stepping stones as well.

Phyllis took Luigi's hand, and led him to a path that led behind the waterfall, revealing a stone wall. There were several fireflies there, but Luigi couldn't see too well. He took out his own flashlight turned it on, and saw several carvings of names inside of hearts.

"Wow," Luigi said. "There must be hundreds of these here!"

"Most everyone in town has been here on dates," Phyllis said. "They like to come here and carve out their initials in this wall. It's kind of a town tradition for couples to do so."

"Here's an interesting one. Philip P. and Frances F. Kinda sound like your name and your brother's name, Phyllis."

"I know. Those are my parents. Philip Portobello and Frances Fettuccine. This is where they had their first date. Father carved their initials into the rock the night he proposed. Every year on their anniversary, before Mother died, they would come back here, visit the spot where Father proposed to Mother, have a moonlight picnic, and then just sit and stargaze. Sometimes, Father would pick a cherry blossom from one of the trees and put it in Mother's hair."

"Now that's what I call a romantic date."

Phyllis and Luigi walked out from behind the waterfall, sat down on a nearby fallen tree, and began looking up at the stars. Something came over Luigi just then. He wasn't sure why, but he felt it was the thing to do. He stood up, picked one of the flowers off the nearest cherry tree, and carefully put it in Phyllis's hair. Phyllis looked at the plumber, smiled, and giggled.

"Oh, Luigi, that's so sweet of you," she said.

"Yeah, well," Luigi said, somewhat at a loss for words. "I guess . . . . I mean that story about your folks and all . . . . I just thought . . . . I mean . . . ."

Luigi trailed off as he sat back down next. Once he did, Phyllis took his hands in hers, and the two of them gazed into each others eyes. They were about to kiss, when they suddenly heard a buzzing noise close by. They looked up, and saw a swarm of Beezos heading right for them.

"Look out!" Luigi shouted, and he and Phyllis ducked, just as the Beezos swooped down on them.

"What are those things?" Phyllis asked.

"Beezos," Luigi said. "They work for Koopa. He must've sent 'em after you and Franky. We'd better get outta here!"

Luigi and Phyllis took off running, just as the Beezos made another swoop on them. They barley had time to duck!

"Go on, beat it, you Beezo bozos!" Luigi shouted.

"Charrrrrrrge!" one of the Beezos shouted, and he and his swarm made another swoop.

"Hit the dirt!" Luigi shouted, and he and Phyllis practically threw themselves on the ground.

"We'd better regroup with the others," Phyllis said.

"Good idea!" Luigi shouted, grabbing Phyllis's hand. "Let's move!"

The couple began running as fast as they could, until they heard frantic meowing. Phyllis skid to a halt, which caused Luigi to stop as well.

"Puffball!" Phyllis shouted. "I forgot all about her!"

Luigi dared to look, and saw a couple of Beezos chasing after Puffball, ready to swoop down. The cat looked behind her to see how close they were, instead of looking ahead of her to see where she was going, and she ran face first into a tree.

 _BONK!_

"Me- _yeeesh_!" she mewed, dazed. She was too dazed to dodge the oncoming enemies. Immediately, Luigi ran over, grabbed the frightened cat, and jumped out of the way just as the Beezos came swooping down.

"Hey, pick on someone your own size, you overgrown insects!" he shouted.

"Me-yay!" Puffball cheered, and she began licking Luigi's face.

"Save the thanks, kitty. We've gotta keep moving!"

Luigi ran into the bushes to avoid the Beezos, and found they had stopped chasing after him. When he surveyed the area, they found they were now chasing after Phyllis, and had her cornered. She was trying to fight them off herself, but there were too many of them.

"Gotcha now, Blondie!" one of them shouted.

"Where's a fire flower, or a starman when ya need one?" Luigi asked. "Oh, the heck with it! You buzz-brains get away from her!"

Immediately, Luigi jumped from his hiding place (still carrying Puffball under one arm), and raced over to Phyllis, shoving her out of the way.

"Whoa!" Phyllis shouted, as she tripped, and fell, hitting the side of her head on the ground as she landed.

Before Luigi had a chance to move, the Beezos swooped down, threw a burlap sack over him and Puffball, tied it closed, and flew into the air.

"Hey, lemme outta here!" Luigi shouted.

"Meow!" Puffball protested.

"That should do it," the leader said. "Come on, let's get back to King Koopa!"

By this time, Phyllis had come to her senses. She looked up, just in time to see the Beezos disappear from view. Then she looked around for any sign of Luigi and Puffball.

"Luigi?" she asked. "Luigi, where are you? Puffball! Here, kitty, kitty, kitty!"

It was then Phyllis remembered the Beezos were carrying a sack with them as they flew off. It only took her half a nanosecond to realize what happened.

"Oh no!" she shouted. "I'd better get back to the others!"

And she immediately began running in order to alert Mario and the others to what had happened.

Back at the governor's mansion, Koopa was pacing the study, getting impatient.

"Where are those flying fools?" he asked. "They should've been back by now!"

"Here we are, your royal repulsiveness!" the leader of the Beezos said, as he and his troops flew in.

"It's about time!" Koopa shouted. "What kept you?!"

"We couldn't find the boy, or Princess Toadstool," the leader said. "But we _did_ get the governor's daughter for you!"

"Well, where is she?"

"Right in this sack, your lizard-ness."

Koopa walked over to the sack the other Beezos were holding. He could hear meowing and scratching from inside of it as well.

"Huh, sounds like you managed to get the little brat's mangy feline flea hotel, too," Koopa said. "Let the cat outta the bag, Beezos!"

The Beezos opened the bag, and revealed Luigi and Puffball to their master. Needless to say, their king was _not_ a happy Koopa at this.

"YOU DIPSTICKS!" he screamed at the top of his lungs. "YOU CALL _THIS_ THE GOVERNOR'S DAUGHTER?! WHAT'S THE MATTER WITH YOU?!"

"Hey, this isn't Blondie!" one of the Beezos said.

"No kidding, Sherlock!" Koopa shouted, bonking the Beezo on the head with his fist.

"Well, at least they got the cat," one of Koopa's Troopas said. Koopa bopped him on the noggin as well.

"WHO CARES ABOUT THE STUPID CAT?!" he screamed at the top of his lungs. "Morons! I'm surrounded by morons!"

"Now might be a good time to make our way to the exit," Luigi said, as Koopa began stomping around the room, screaming incoherently. "What do you think, kitty?"

"Me-yeah," Puffball agreed.

While Koopa's attention was diverted, Luigi, holding Puffball close to him, began to sneak away. But just because Koopa wasn't paying attention, didn't mean his minions weren't as well! Luigi didn't get as far as the hallway before he came face to face with Mouser, holding a spear.

"And just _where_ do you think _you're_ going, plum-scum?" he asked.

"Apparently, nowhere," Luigi said, backing into the room.

"Ya got that right, greenie!" Koopa shouted. "You and the little fuzz bucket ain't going nowhere!"

Puffball hissed at Koopa, and was about to jump at him, but Luigi held her back, and began stroking her to calm her down.

"Easy does it, kitty," he said. "You don't want to antagonize him more than he's already antagonized. Trust me on this one."

Puffball grumbled, and then blew Koopa a raspberry, just for the heck of it.

"Besides, look at it this way," Luigi went on. "At least he didn't get Phyllis. I'd hate to think of her in Koopa's clutches!"

"You would, huh?" Koopa asked. "Hmmm. That's very interesting, pipe-squeak. Very interesting indeed. Sounds like you and Blondie have gotten to be pretty close friends."

"You leave her outta this, Koopa!"

"Sorry, but I can't. I need her, and her bratty brother, here. Besides which, I don't like slaves who escape."

"You just wait until Mario gets here! Then you're gonna get it!"

"You know, that's not a bad idea. Troopas, lock 'em up!"

With that, Koopa threw Luigi and Puffball to his Troopas, and they marched the plumber out of the mansion.

"What are you up to, your royal disgusting one?" Mouser asked.

"It's obvious the little pipe-squeak's got a crush on the governor's daughter," Koopa said. "She's sure to tell Mario and his friends about this. All I gotta do is wait until they come. Oh, have I got something devious in mind! It's so despicable, I'm almost ashamed of myself!"

And with that, Koopa began to cackle madly.

As Koopa was devising his next devious scheme, the Troopas marched Luigi to a small jailhouse, and locked in a cell. Then they left the jailhouse to guard the front door.

"Well," Luigi said, sitting down on the wooden cot against the wall, "I guess it could be a lot worse, huh, Puffball?"

"Meow?" Puffball asked.

"Yeah. They could've put us in the stocks or something. I hope they didn't hear me, or else they might get ideas."

Puffball jumped out of Luigi's hold, and began investigating the cell, sniffing about. Luigi looked around the cell as well. Besides the cot, the only other thing in the cell was a window, but there were bars over it, but it wasn't being guarded. But even if Luigi could manage to get rid of the bars, the window was too small for him to fit through. However, the window was definitely not to small for Puffball.

"Meow!" she cried happily, and jumped onto the window ledge. She sniffed at the bars, and began to try to squeeze herself between the gaps.

"Forget it, Puffball," Luigi said. "There's no way in the world anything could fit through those gaps in the . . . ."

"Meow!" Puffball cried, as she managed to get through the spaces between the bars. Once she was through, she sat on the ledge, and began grooming herself. Squeezing through the bars had mussed her fur a bit.

"Huh," Luigi said, a bit dumbfounded. "Well I'll be a monkey wrench's uncle! Way to go, kitty! Now go find Mario and the others!"

"Meow!" Puffball shouted, sitting up on her hind legs, and saluting the plumber. Then she ran off. She knew there wasn't any time to lose.


	5. Captured

By this time, Phyllis had returned to Mario, Princess Toadstool, Toad, and Franky, and told them about what happened.

"And after I got my wits back," she said, "I saw those awful Beezos flying away, and then I couldn't find Luigi or Puffball anywhere! They took them to Koopa, I just know they did!"

Phyllis then buried her face in her hands, and burst into tears. The Princess put her hands on the blonde's shoulders, reassuringly.

"Don't cry, Phyllis," she said. "It wasn't your fault."

"Yeah," Mario said. "And we're gonna rescue Luigi and Puffball. Everything's gonna be okay, you'll see."

"But how?" Toad asked. "We don't know what Koopa's gonna do with them. Much less where he's keeping them locked up."

"If he's keeping them in the mansion, we've got our work cut out for us," Franky said. "It'll take us weeks if we manage to get in and search room by room!"

"How many rooms does your dad's mansion have?" Toad asked.

"I don't know, I lost count after twenty-five," Franky said, shrugging.

"Well, the first thing we'd better do is head to town," Mario said. "We'll search there first, and then head toward searching the mansion."

The others agreed, and they began to make their way back to town.

"I've got to admit, Franky," Phyllis said. "You're taking this awfully well."

"I am _not_ speaking to you!" Franky shouted, glaring at his sister. "If anything happens to Puffball, I'll never speak to you again!"

Franky then stormed up ahead, in order to put some distance between him and his sister.

"He's kind of upset, huh?" the Princess asked.

"Oh yeah," Phyllis said, nodding. "But he really _is_ taking it better than I thought he'd take it."

"Not speaking to his own sister is taking it better than you thought?" Toad asked. "What did you think he'd be doing?"

"I thought he'd be throwing a tantrum worthy of a two-year-old," Phyllis said. "You'll have to forgive him if he appears more worried about Puffball than he is about Luigi. He's just _very_ attached to her."

"So we've noticed," Mario said. "Why is he so attached to his cat, anyway?"

"He's had her for eleven years now," Phyllis said. "Since she was just a little kitten. When he was five, and I was ten, our mother got sick. The doctors tried everything, but there wasn't anything they could do for her. Franky was too young to understand that she was dying. Father, Mother and I kept telling him, trying to prepare him, but I don't think he truly understood."

"Were Franky and your mother close?" the Princess asked.

"Very," Phyllis said. "Mother gave Franky a kitten one day, trying to provide a distraction from everything. She didn't want him to see her deteriorating, she felt he was too young for that. Puffball was a great source of comfort to Franky after Mother died. They've been inseparable ever since. I think Franky thinks Mother is somehow still with him, through Puffball. I know that sounds corny, but I really do believe it."

"Yeah, that makes sense," Mario said. "After all, Puffball was a present from his mother. That makes her extra special to him."

"Enough of this sentimental jazz, already," Toad said. "It's making me wanna throw up!"

Mario, the Princess, and Phyllis groaned, and they continued to walk toward town. As they were walking, they saw something running up the path towards them, but they couldn't make out exactly what it was.

"Uh oh," Mario said. "That might be one of Koopa's henchmen! We'd better hide!"

"Maybe we should fight it," Franky said. "After all, we have him outnumbered!"

"Yeah!" Toad shouted. "And if we catch him, he might tell us where Luigi is!"

" _And_ Puffball," Franky said, glaring at the mushroom.

"Okay, okay, Luigi _and_ your dumb ol' cat," Toad said, rolling his eyes.

"Hey!" Franky shouted.

"Stop it, you two!" the Princess shouted. "Whatever it is on the path is getting closer!"

The group ducked behind the trees on either side of the road, and waited for Koopa's minion to get closer.

"Now!" Mario shouted, just as the minion approached.

Mario and Toad lept out from behind the trees, in an attempt to jump the minion, but they only wound up smashing into each other head first, because the minion was smaller than either of them had anticipated.

"Ooof!" Mario shouted.

"Ow!" Toad yelled, and he and Mario crashed to the ground, seeing stars.

"Mario! Toad! Are you all right?" the Princess asked.

"Anybody get the license number of that pizza truck?" Mario asked, dazedly.

"Meow?" the minion asked. As it turned out, it wasn't one of Koopa's minions at all.

"It's Puffball!" Franky shouted happily, as he scooped up his feline friend. Immediately, Puffball began purring.

"But where's Luigi?" Mario asked.

Puffball jumped out of Franky's arms, and began pointing down the pathway to town, meowing.

"Something tells me we'd better follow Puffball," Mario said. "She's gotta know where Luigi is."

"Meow!" Puffball cried, as she jumped into Mario's arms, and began rubbing her face against his. Then she jumped down, and led the way.

Puffball led the group into town, but hid around the corner from the jailhouse, mainly because it was being guarded by two Shy Guys.

"I should have known Koopa would throw Luigi in the town jail," Mario said. "That's what he did to Luigi, Toad, and me when we were in the wild west that one time. He doesn't have an original bone in his body!"

"How are we gonna get in with those dudes guarding the door?" Toad asked.

"I could probably take 'em," Franky said. "There's only two of them, and I got a killer right hook! Plus I know karate. Hi-yah!"

"Subtle much?" Toad asked, sarcastically.

"Toad's right," the Princess said. "You might end up attracting attention that way, Franky. We'll have to come up with another idea to get those Shy Guys out of the way."

"Leave it to Puffball," Phyllis said. "She'll distract them, and then we'll go in and bust Luigi out."

Franky put Puffball down, and she ran over to the two Shy Guys. Then she sat up on her hind legs, put her paws to her ears, waved them at the Shy Guys, blew them a raspberry, and took off running.

"Hey, how'd she get loose?" one of the Shy Guys asked.

"I dunno, but we'd better get after her, or else King Koopa's gonna give it to us!" the other shouted, and the two of them took off after Puffball.

Once Puffball led the Shy Guys away, our heroes ran to the jailhouse and slipped inside.

"Hiya, Luigi!" Mario called out as the group approached the cell.

"Boy, am I glad to see you guys!" Luigi shouted.

"Don't worry, Luigi," the Princess said. "We'll get you out of there."

"Uh oh," Mario said. "We forgot one vital element of this rescue. The keys to the cell. Where are they?"

"You're not gonna like the answer," Luigi said.

"Don't tell me Koopa's got 'em," Mario said.

"Koopa's got 'em," Luigi said.

"I told you not to tell me that!" Mario groaned.

Franky immediately began studying the lock on the cell door. After giving it some thought, he snapped his fingers.

"I got it!" he shouted. "Anybody got a bobby pin?"

"Right here," the Princess said, pulling a bobby pin out of her hair. "But what do you need it for?"

"I'm gonna pick the lock," Franky said, taking the pin and sticking it into the lock.

"Pick the lock with a bobby pin?" Mario asked, incredulously. "I admire your spirit, paisano, but that trick is never gonna work! It only works on TV or in the movies, and . . . . ."

Suddenly, Mario heard a click, and Franky pulled the cell door open. Nobody could believe that old trick actually worked.

"You were saying?" Franky asked, handing the bobby pin back to the Princess.

"Where'd you learn how to pick locks?" Toad asked.

"A friend of mine taught me," Franky said. "He's got an older sister who keeps her diary locked."

"Makes sense to me," Toad said, shrugging.

Phyllis shook her head, and ran over to Luigi, giving him a big hug.

"Oh, Luigi, I'm so glad you're okay!" she shouted. "I was afraid Koopa would do something horrible to you!"

"So did I," Luigi said, wrapping his arms around Phyllis. "But I'm glad he didn't get his claws on you, Phyllis. I think that knowing he had you as his prisoner would've been ten times worse than spending who knows how long in this cell!"

"Oh great," Toad groaned. "More mushy stuff!"

"I hate to break your romantic reunion up, lovebirds," Mario said, "but dontcha think we should start with the escaping before we're spotted?"

"Yeah, good idea," Franky said. "Let's get Puffball and split!"

Mario opened the door to the jailhouse, and peeked outside. He looked around both corners, and then turned to the others.

"The coast is clear," he said. "Let's move!"

Mario took one step outside, but the minute he did, several lights came on, surrounding him, and the others, and sirens began blaring.

"Uh oh . . . ." he said.

"We'd better split before somebody sees us!" Franky shouted.

"Bad news, dude," Toad said. "It's too late for that."

The group looked, and found they had been surrounded by Snifits. Leading the pack was Mouser.

"Make one false move, and you've had it!" Mouser shouted.

"You gotta be kidding me," he said. "These Shy Guys are pushovers! Outta my way, creeps!"

"Franky, don't!" Mario shouted.

Unfortunately, Franky wasn't going to listen. He took one step forward, and the Snifits began shooting at him. He ducked and dodged them, and wound up tripping over his own feet while doing so, and crashing to the ground.

"Like I was trying to tell you, paisano," Mario said, helping the teenager to his feet. "Those _aren't_ Shy Guys. Those are Snifits. And they're loaded!"

" _Now_ you tell me!" Franky shouted. "But wait a minute, what happened to Puffball?"

"Right here, little boy!" Mouser shouted, pulling Puffball out from behind his back, holding her by the back of her collar. He also held her at arm's length so she couldn't bit or scratch him. Immediately, he threw the cat at our heroes. Luckily, the Franky caught her in midair before she could get hurt.

"Poor little Puffball," he said, stroking his cat gently.

"Mouser, you're terrible!" the Princess shouted. "Just plain terrible!"

"So glad you noticed, Princess," Mouser said. Then he turned to the Snifits. "Take them to King Koopa! And I vould suggest you all comply, unless you vant to end up like Sviss cheese!"

"What do we do now, Mario?" Luigi asked.

"Unfortunately," Mario said, "we go see King Koopa. We're up the pipe without a plunger!"

Within seconds, our heroes were marched into the mansion, and found themselves standing before King Koopa.

"Welcome to my humble abode," Koopa said.

"I should have known we'd wind up face to face with you sooner or later, Koopa," the Princess said.

"Yes, we always do, don't we?" Koopa asked. "We've really _got_ to stop meeting like this."

"I can go along with that," Mario said. "Arrevederci, Koopa!"

And with that, Mario started to leave, but he was blocked off by the Koopa Troopas, weilding spears. Nervously, he returned to the others.

"Or maybe not," he said.

"I thought you'd see it my way," Koopa said. "And with you all out of the way, I can take over the Mushroom Kingdom without interruption!"

"There's just one thing I don't get," Franky said. "How did you catch us so quickly? Nobody saw us go into the jailhouse, and Puffball was distracting the only two guards!"

"Oh, it was simple," Koopa said. "The whole thing was prearranged. After all, you've had one of my spies with you the entire time!"

"What?!" Toad shouted.

"One of your spies?" the Princess asked.

"You gotta be kidding!" Franky shouted.

"Oh, but I'm not kidding," Koopa said. He chuckled a bit, and then grabbed Phyllis by the arm, pulling her away from the group.

"Hey!" Franky shouted. "Get your dirty, slimy, scaly mitts off my sister!"

Franky was about to give Koopa a punch in the nose, but he was held back by the Troopas.

"No need to get hysterical, kid," Koopa said. "After all, she's my spy!"

"What?!" our heroes shouted in unison.

"That's not true!" Luigi shouted. "Phyllis, tell me it's not true!"

"It most certainly is not true!" Phyllis shouted, glaring at Koopa. "I'd _never_ be on his side!"

"There's no need to pretend anymore, my dear Miss Portobello," Koopa said. "You and I planned this whole thing, just in case those pinhead plumbers arrived here. The whole thing was fixed, you know."

"Are you for real?" Franky asked. "Phyllis and I tell each other _every_ thing! And she would've told me if she was joining your side!"

"That's the beauty of a double cross, kid," Koopa said, then he turned to Phyllis. "Go ahead, my dear. Tell them all about how I planned to capture one of the Mario Brothers, and how you were supposed to lure the others here in order to capture you all. Go ahead, don't be shy."

"I can't believe this," Luigi said.

"Well, I _don't_ believe it!" Franky shouted. "My sister is _not_ a liar, _or_ a traitor! And she'd never work for a big, fat, ugly, pompous, digusting tub of lard like you, Koopa!"

"Flattery will get you nowhere, little boy," Koopa said.

"Don't you call _me_ a little boy, you . . . . you overgrown suitcase!"

"Shut up, runt!"

Koopa then smacked Franky across the face so hard, the teenager's head jolted backward, and he let out a yelp from pain. Puffball bristled her fur, arched her back, flattened her ears and hissed loudly at Koopa, baring her fangs. She was about to pounce on him, when Koopa stooped down to get face to face with her, and growled at her, showing off his fangs.

"You wanna piece of this, flea bag?!" he shouted, raising his big foot over the cat, as if he were about to step on her. "Keep that up, and you're gonna be a little fuzzy pancake!"

"Me-yipe!" Puffball cried, and she raced from the room as fast as she could.

"Scaredy cat!" Toad called after her. "A fat lotta help _you_ turned out to be!"

"Go and bring her back, you twits!" Koopa demanded, and two of his Troopas ran off after Puffball.

"Wait a minute," Luigi said. "You got mad at the Beezos for bringing me and Puffball here instead of Phyllis! You're lying, Koopa!"

"That was just to throw you off, pipe-squeak!" Koopa shouted. "I couldn't reveal that she's working for me then and there, now could I?"

"Phyllis, is this true?" Luigi asked.

"No, it isn't!" Phyllis shouted. "Really, Luigi, it isn't!"

"Don't believe a word she says," Koopa said. "If she's one of my minions, you know she's lying."

"But why?" Luigi asked. "Why would you want to work with a scumbag like Koopa?"

"But Luigi . . . ." Phyllis began.

"To keep up her life of being rich, of course!" Koopa shouted. "A governor has to be elected, and the term only lasts four years, and her daddy's term is up next year."

"Dad's been governor of Portobello Port since before either of us were born, Dragon Breath!" Franky shouted. "That adds up to more than four years!"

"Yeah, but he's only been governor for so long because the people keep re-electing him, squirt!" Koopa continued. "Since your daddy's gone missing, he can't be re-elected, and there goes your cushy lifestyle! Your sister didn't want to give up living in a big fancy mansion, and having lots of fancy clothes, and having servants wait on her hand and foot! So I made a deal with her. I told her to get one of you wrench jockeys to fall for her, so that when I captured one of you, she'd lead you all right into my clutches!"

"I knew it!" Mario shouted. "I _knew_ there was something I didn't like about her making goo-goo eyes at Luigi all the time! Never trust a blonde, I always say!"

"Since when?" Luigi asked.

"Since now!" Mario shouted.

"I think you're lying, Koopa!" the Princess shouted.

"If I'm lying," Koopa said, "may that suit of armor fall on me, and crush me flatter than a pancake!"

As if that were a cue, the suit of armor fell to the floor, making a horrible noise. However, Koopa was still standing when the dust cleared.

"See? It missed!" he shouted. "Therefore, I'm not lying about Miss Portobello being one of my henchmen . . . errr, hench _women_."

"I can't believe it," Luigi said. "I just can't believe it!"

"Luigi, it's not true!" Phyllis shouted. "I swear, I'm _not_ working for Koopa, and I never was!"

"Stay away from my brother, you . . . . you femme fatale!" Mario shouted. "You . . . . you vamp! You . . . . you Jezebel, you!"

"But Mario . . . ." Phyllis began.

"Forget it, sister!" Mario shouted. "No way in the world am I gonna let you hurt my little brother!"

"Mario, I can't believe you!" the Princess shouted. "How can you believe Koopa?! After all he's done to us, and said to us, how can you choose to believe him now?!"

"I don't know," Mario said, shrugging. "I guess I was convinced when the suit of armor didn't flatten him. Besides, she could be trying to trick us!"

"Oh brother!" Franky shouted, slapping his hand over his eyes.

"Okay, enough of this," Koopa said. "You Troopas take the two sink stains, the meddling mushroom, and the governor's little brat to the jailhouse, and leave the princess here with me! And hop to it!"

With that, the Troopas began to march the boys out of the room. Phyllis started to run after them.

"Luigi!" she shouted. "None of what he's said is true! Please believe me, Luigi! I'd never do anything to hurt you! You know I wouldn't! You have to believe me, please!"

Luigi didn't respond. He didn't even turn to look at Phyllis. He wasn't sure who to believe at this point. He knew he couldn't believe Koopa, but he also couldn't be sure Phyllis was telling the truth, either. She could have been trying to trick him.

"I'm sorry, Phyllis," he said, finally, keeping his back toward her. "But I just can't."

Phyllis stood there in shock, watching the Troopas lead the boys out of the room, and out of the mansion. Once they were out of sight, she broke down in tears, burying her face in her hands.

"Don't worry, Phyllis," the Princess said. " _I_ believe you! I wouldn't take anything Koopa says with a grain of salt!"

"You know, she's right," Koopa said. "I do so _love_ lying!"

"You monster!" the Princess shouted. "Why did you lie about Phyllis working for you, anyway?!"

"Because I'm a mean old snake in the grass and I love causing pain and misery!"

" _There's_ a big surprise."

Koopa was about to respond, when two Troopas ran into the throne room, covered with scratches and teeth marks.

"Bad news, boss," he said. "The cat got away from us."

"You morons!" Koopa shouted. "Oh well. Forget about her, anyway. After all, what can she do? She's just a puny little pussycat. _And_ she's afraid of me anyway! I've got bigger things to take care of. Mouser, get in here!"

"Yes, your rotten-ness?" Mouser asked, coming into the room.

"Escort the ladies to the attic for the time being," Koopa said.

"Right avay, your Koopa-ness!" Mouser shouted. "All right, ladies. Move it!"

"You won't get away with this, Koopa!" the Princess shouted, as Mouser led her and Phyllis out of the room.

"That's where you're wrong, my pretty princess!" Koopa shouted. "I already have! Ha, ha, ha, ha, haaaaaa!"


	6. Jailhouse Rocked

The Koopa Troopa's slammed the cell door shut, and then went outside to guard the jailhouse. This time, there was no way to get out. Franky would have been able to pick the lock easily, but he couldn't do it without a bobby pin.

"Well, here's another fine mess we've gotten ourselves into," Toad groaned. "We're stuck here, the Princess is stuck somewhere in the mansion, and we don't have a way out of here!"

"This is all your sister's fault, Franky!" Mario shouted. "If she hadn't tricked us . . . ."

"I keep _tell_ ing you, Mario, she _didn't_ trick us!" Franky shouted. "Stupid Koopa's lying about it! I know my sister, and she wouldn't do _any_ thing to betray Portobello Port!"

"Oh yeah?" Mario asked. "Then how come he knew we were coming?"

"Because Koopa knows you'd never let Luigi rot in some jail cell, Mario," Toad pointed out. "He knows you'll always come rescue any of us!"

"I still think she's working for Koopa!" Mario shouted. "Just look what she did to Luigi! She made him fall in love with her, just so she could rip out his heart, and smash it like an overripe tomato! She's just a tramp, that's what she is!"

"Watch it, garlic breath!" Franky shouted, getting a bit hot under the collar. "I don't take kindly to those who call my sister names like that!"

"Yeah? Well, I don't take kindly to those who break my brother's heart! Whattaya think of that, squirt?!"

Franky glared at Mario, and punched him in the nose as hard as he could. Mario didn't expect that coming, and he wound up stumbling backwards.

"Why you little . . . ." he started. "Why I oughta . . . ."

"Come and get me, fatso!" Franky shouted.

"You oughta have more respect for your elders, _little boy_!" Mario shouted.

That did it. Franky pounced on Mario, and the two of them began brawling. Mario didn't care that he was picking on a kid, he was good and mad.

"Hey, fellas! Fellas!" Toad shouted. "Break it up, will ya?!"

Neither Mario nor Franky listened to the little mushroom. They kept right on yelling and screaming at each other, throwing punches right and left. It was amazing Luigi wasn't even reacting to all of this. He wasn't paying any attention to the fight at all. He was staring out the window at the governor's mansion, wondering where Phyllis was inside of it. He was still confused over Koopa telling him and the others that Phyllis was working for him. And, even if she _had_ betrayed them, he still had strong feelings for her.

Luigi kept staring at the mansion, and then he began daydreaming. He imagined the mansion as a huge castle, with Phyllis in the tower window, dressed as a fairytale damsel in distress, and Koopa was a fire-breathing dragon. He imagined himself as a knight in shining armor, riding a white charger. Using his lance, Luigi pole vaulted up to the tower window. Koopa-the-Dragon breathed a sheet of flames at him, but Luigi was prepared. He took a wrench out of nowhere, adjusted some pipes, and turned on a nearby faucet, causing a stream of water to shoot right in Koopa-the-Dragon's mouth dousing his flames. When the dragon realized he could no longer breath fire, he ran away in shame. Phyllis wrapped her arms around Luigi's neck, and kissed him on the cheek.

Another daydream came to Luigi after that one faded out. This time, Koopa was a pirate, and he had Phyllis tied to the mast of his ship. Luigi, dressed as a swashbuckler, came swinging onto the ship, and began a sword fight with Koopa, but also using the sword to cut the ropes binding Phyllis to the mast. The duel ended when Luigi forced Koopa off the end of the plank of his own ship. Once again, he had won the heart of the fair damsel.

Luigi continued daydreaming about him as the brave and dashing hero rescuing Phyllis, as the beautiful damsel in distress from the evil Koopa in various situations, until he was broken out of it when Franky shoved Mario, and knocked him into Luigi.

"Hey, you guys!" Luigi shouted. "Knock it off already, will ya?!"

"Yeah, enough is enough!" Toad shouted.

"Well, _he_ started it!" Franky shouted.

"I did not!" Mario shouted. " _You_ started it!"

"I don't care who started it!" Toad shouted. "I'm finishing it! Both of you go to your neutral corners!"

Franky let out a frustrated groan, and went to one side of the cell, while Mario walked over to the opposite side.

"Now both of ya sit there and keep quiet!" Toad ordered. "We've got to come up with a way to get outta here, and I can't think with you two fighting!"

Mario and Franky glared at each other, but said nothing. Luigi heaved a sigh, and continued staring at the mansion through the cell window.

"If only Puffball hadn't run out on us," Mario sighed. "We'd be able to use her to get out of here."

"Maybe that dumb cat's working for Koopa too," Toad said. "Why else would that fuzzball run out on us like she did? She must be a traitor, too!"

"Watch it, mushroom," Franky said. "Or I might have to rough you up like I did Fatso over here!"

"Why you little shrimp!" Mario shouted.

"Look who's talking!" Franky shouted back. "I'm taller than you are!"

"Yo, you guys!" Luigi shouted. "I'd like to wallow in self-pity over here in peace, if that's all right with you! Sheesh!"

Mario gave Franky a glare, stood up, and walked over to Luigi, putting his hand on his brother's shoulder.

"Forget about her, Luigi," he said. "After all, she's one of Koopa's underlings!"

"I can't help it, Mario," Luigi said, still staring at the mansion. "I'm hooked."

"Come on, snap out of it!" Mario shouted. "Don't forget, she broke your heart! She broke it by lying to us and sending us to Koopa! She's just a no good minion of his!"

"I really wish you'd quit saying that," Franky said, giving Mario the fiercest glare he could muster. "My sister is no traitor! And besides, she's too good for a poor, shabby, greasy, dirty plumber like your brother!"

"Oh yeah?" Mario asked, turning toward Franky. "Well, maybe my brother's too good for a stuck up, snobby, high and mighty traitor like your sister!"

"You take that back!" Franky shouted, getting to his feet.

"Yeah, try and make me!" Mario shouted.

And once again, Mario and Franky began brawling. Toad smacked his hand over his eyes in frustration.

"There they go again!" he groaned.

Luigi didn't pay any of them any mind. He just went back to staring out the window. However, he wasn't the only one doing so. Phyllis was sitting by the attic window, looking down at the jailhouse, and wondering what Luigi was thinking. She was still crying over the whole thing, too. It seemed like she just couldn't stop.

"We'll convince Mario that you're not working for Koopa somehow," the Princess said, taking a handkerchief out of her pocket, and handing it to Phyllis.

"I just wish Luigi believed me," Phyllis said, sniffling. "I wish he knew I wouldn't hurt him, not for anything!"

"Well, I believe you. And Franky believes you, too."

"I know. And I appreciate it, Princess, I really do, but . . . . what's the use if Luigi thinks I betrayed him?"

Phyllis buried her face in her hands again, and began sobbing. The Princess sighed, and did her best to calm her down, but she knew she was in for a long crying binge. She knew Phyllis was heartbroken over Luigi believing she was on Koopa's side, and she also knew it was very difficult to mend a broken heart.

"I'm just so scared of what's going to happen," Phyllis went on. "What do you think Koopa's going to do to them?"

"I don't know," the Princess said. "It could be anything.

"You're so right, Princess," Koopa said, coming into the room. "And have I got a doozy cooked up for them all!"

"And what exactly is that?" the Princess asked.

"You'll find out," Koopa said. "And once I get those pesky plumbers out of my hair, nothing's gonna stop me from taking over the rest of the Mushroom Kingdom!"

"And what do you have planned for us?" the Princess asked.

"I'm not quite sure yet," Koopa said. "But it looks like I've got the makings for a pretty good harem!"

Koopa began cackling madly as he left the attic. The Princess charged for him, but the reptile closed the door and locked it before she could catch him.

"Hmph!" she shouted. "A harem indeed! How primitive can you get?!"

Phyllis didn't answer. She just sat by the window, looking down at the jailhouse, wondering what Luigi was thinking, and also wondering if she would ever be able to convince him she wasn't on Koopa's side.

Back in the jailhouse, Toad was pacing back and forth, trying to come up with an idea on how to escape.

"There's gotta be a way out of here somehow," he said.

"Hey, we've still got our tools!" Mario shouted, pulling a hacksaw out of his overalls. "I can saw the bars off the cell with this!"

"Yeah, but what about Koopa's goons?" Franky asked.

"Yeah," Toad said. "They're still guarding this place, remember?"

"How did Puffball manage to get out when you were in here before, Luigi?" Franky asked.

"She climbed out the window," Luigi said. "After all, it's not being guarded. She just slipped right through the bars."

"That window's too small for any of us to get through," Mario said.

"Yeah, _that's_ for sure," Franky said, snidely. "Especially for you, spaghetti gut!"

"Wanna make something of it, pizza face?" Mario asked, raising his fists.

"Oh no, don't you two start _that_ again!" Toad shouted, stepping between Mario and Franky before they could get into another brawl.

"Hmmm . . . ." Franky said, and he began to study Toad, and the window. Then he snapped his fingers. "Hey, that's it!"

"What's it?" Mario asked.

"Toad can get through that window!" Franky shouted. "He's small enough."

"I may be small enough to fit through the window," Toad said, "but there's no way I can fit through those bars!"

"Toad's right," Luigi said. "They're too close together. I'm not even sure how Puffball managed to do it!"

"I have a theory that cats are part liquid," Franky said, "but that's beside the point. We can use Mario's idea to saw through the bars so Toad can fit. Then he can get out and look for help."

"But what about the guards?" Toad asked. "They're bound to hear Mario sawing through the bars."

"Not if they hear something else first," Franky said. "You guys got a couple of wrenches or something?"

"Never leave home without 'em," Mario said, as he and Luigi pulled their wrenches out of their pockets. "A good plumber is always prepared!"

"But what do you need a couple of wrenches for?" Luigi asked.

Franky walked over to the cell door, and tapped one of the bars with one of the wrenches. Then he tapped another, which resulted in a different tone. Then he played the scales on the cell, as if it were a xylophone.

"Any requests?" he asked.

"But what happens if the Troopas come in to investigate the noise?" Luigi asked.

"Oh," Franky said. "I hadn't thought of that."

"Hmmm," Mario said, thinking it over. Then he snapped his fingers. "I got it. Luigi, stand over here. And Toad, you sit on Luigi's right shoulder."

Luigi shrugged, and stood where Mario had indicated. Toad jumped on his shoulder.

"Hey, man, great!" Franky shouted. "Standing like that, they completely block the window! Great thinking, Mario!"

"Well, your idea of playing a tune on the cell to block out the noise of the sawing is a great idea, too, paisano," Mario said. "Let's get to work!"

Everybody took their places. Franky began hitting the cell doors with the wrenches, and Mario began sawing through the bars on the window. Luigi and Toad stood where they were, and didn't make one move. Toad's hunch about them attracting attention was correct, though. A Koopa Troopa came inside shortly after they got started. Mario immediately stopped sawing, but Franky continued his concert.

"What's all the noise in here?" the Troopa asked.

"Just trying to keep my mind occupied," Franky said. "It's boring in here! We gotta do something to keep from going stir crazy! I mean, even you guys gotta admit, it's boring standing out there doing nothing but guarding us, isn't it?"

"Yeah," the Troopa admitted, turning to leave. "You've got a point there, kid. Carry on then."

"Holy ravioli," Luigi said, once the Troopa left. "I can't believe that actually worked!"

"You know Koopa's Troopa's, Luigi," Mario said, as he got back to sawing the bars. "They should be called Stoopa Troopas! Emphasis on the stoopa!"

"Yeah, man!" Franky shouted, and continued his concert.

Finally, Mario cut through two of the bars on the window, making it big enough for Toad to fit through. The mushroom then jumped through the opening, and looked at the others.

"Great going, Toad," Mario said. "Now go find help!"

"And hurry!" Luigi shouted.

"You got it, dudes!" Toad shouted, and he ran off.

"We'd better put these bars back," Mario said, taking a tube of plumber's putty out of his pocket. "Just in case those Troopas come back in."

"Or in case Koopa comes to check on us," Luigi said.

"I just hope Toad's able to find help!" Franky shouted.

"Me too," Luigi said. "Because if he doesn't, we're all sunk!"


	7. Puffball Returns

Toad ran through the town, looking into the windows of the buildings, hoping to find somebody, before he remembered Phyllis and Franky told him that Koopa made them all slaves. He would have tried to go free them, but he didn't have a way to do that.

"Maybe I should just run to the next town," he said, running towards the woods behind the governor's mansion. "I don't know how long that's going to take, but it's better than standing here doing nothing! And potentially getting caught by Koopa Stoopa and his equally Stoopa Troopas!"

Toad ran down the path where he and the others first met Phyllis and Franky, not paying any attention to anything, except finding someone to help him, and his friends. He suddenly stopped when he heard rustling in the bushes.

"Huh?" he asked, looking around. "What's that?"

The rustling continued. Toad began to get nervous. Anything could have been hiding in the bushes.

"O-o-o-k-k-kay . . . ." he said, trying to sound tough. "I know you're in there! Come out if you know what's good for ya!"

All that Toad heard was the rustling. Finally, something white jumped out at him, and tackled him to the ground.

"Aaaahhhh!" he shouted. "A Flurry! Get off of me!"

The Flurry (or what Toad thought was a Flurry) didn't get off. As a matter of fact, it started licking Toad in the face.

"Ew! Yuck!" he shouted. "Help! This Flurry's . . . . licking me? Wait a minute! Flurries don't lick! Come to think of it, Flurries are only found in places where it's really, really cold! This ain't no Flurry!"

Toad looked, and indeed, the creature that tackled him was not a Flurry. It was Puffball. But Toad was not happy to see her.

"Get offa me, fuzz face!" he shouted, pushing the cat off him. "And don't ever lick me like that again! I don't know where that tongue has been, and I don't even think I want to know! Yuck!"

"Meow!" Puffball shouted. She began pawing at Toad, but he pushed her away again.

"Knock it off!" he shouted. "I'm supposed to get help! You ran away, like a scaredy cat, so you're no help at all! Now get outta my way!"

Puffball meowed again, and grabbed Toad's vest in her mouth. She tried to get him to follow her, but the little mushroom refused.

"Hey, quit it!" he shouted, pulling his vest out of Puffball's mouth. "You're gonna get teethmarks in my vest, you overgrown hairball! Why dontcha go chase a mouse, or do something useful for a change? Stupid cat."

Puffball growled, pounced, grabbed Toad by the back collar of his vest, picked him up, and began running back toward Portobello Port with him.

"Hey! Put me down!" he shouted, squirming. "I mean it! Put me down, you big, fluffy snowball! I knew you were working for Koopa! Why else would you be taking me back to town?! Let go! Help! I'm being cat-napped!"

Puffball ignored Toad's shouting. Once they reached Portobello Port, Puffball surveyed the area, and then darted to the mansion. The Koopa Troopas were changing the guards. Puffball waited for an opening, and then took it just as the first set of guards went inside the mansion, but before the next set could come out (and before someone could close the front gate, too). Immediately, she dove into the shrubbery next to the mansion, finally putting Toad down.

"Hey!" Toad shouted. Puffball covered the mushroom's mouth with her paw.

"Meow!" she scolded.

Before Toad could say anything more, Koopa walked out of the mansion, and headed for the backyard. Once more, Puffball picked up Toad by the back of his vest, and followed the giant reptile.

"Hey, I have feet, ya know!" Toad hissed, so Koopa wouldn't hear him. Puffball ignored him.

The cat quietly crept behind the mansion, where Koopa had stopped. He was now watching several of his minions building some kind of strange wooden platform, twirling a set of keys on a ring around his finger.

"Hurry up!" he shouted. "I want this thing finished before sunrise!"

"We're doing the best we can, your meanness!" Mouser shouted.

"Apparently, your best is not good enough! Put some muscle into it!"

"Yes, sir. But you have to understand, Rome wasn't built in a day."

"I didn't ask you to build Rome, you revolting rodent! I asked you to build a gallows! I want those pesky plumbers executed at dawn! And I want to make sure Princess Toadstool and Blondie are watching. If she was upset because we made them all think she was on our side, wait until we string up Luigi! And he and Mario will think _she_ arranged it! I can't believe they'd be so stupid as to be _lieve_ she's working for me! One of my best lies yet, and those drips fell for it!"

"And what about Blondie's bratty brother?"

"Let him rot in the jail for now. I may need him later. Now stop yakking and keep working! Speed it up!"

"Yes, oh mighty impatient one!"

As the Koopa Pack began working double time, Koopa went back inside the mansion. Puffball pressed herself against the wall, so she and Toad wouldn't be seen. Once Koopa was out of sight, Puffball finally put Toad down.

"I can't believe it," he said. "They're gonna hang Mario and Luigi! And Phyllis isn't on his side after all, and neither are you. I'm sorry, Puffball. Do you forgive me?"

"Hmmm . . . ." Puffball said, pretending to think it over. Then she smiled, and began to lick Toad's face with her rough, pink tongue.

"Okay, okay!" he shouted, pushing the cat away from him. "You forgive me! Cut it out already! Ugh, cat slobber! Yecchhhh! Come on! We've got to get the keys before Stoopa Koopa's stooges finishes the gallows!"

"Meow!" Puffball agreed, and she led Toad to the back door of the mansion. The door was locked, and there was no way to get inside.

"Looks like we're too late to sneak inside," Toad said. "How do we get in now?"

"Meow," Puffball said, and she pushed a panel on the bottom corner of the door with her paw. It swung open.

"Hey, a pet door!" Toad shouted. "Great!"

Puffball stood back. She had a feeling it would be better to let Toad go in first, and her instinct was right. Because he was a bit on the round, chubby side, Toad got stuck halfway through the door. He grunted and groaned, as he tried to pull himself through, but to no avail.

"Hey, Puffball!" he called. "Give me a hand . . . . errr, paw! I'm stuck."

"Me- _yeesh_ ," Puffball grumbled. She pretended to roll up her sleeves, and started pushing Toad's bottom as hard as she could, but that didn't work.

"Better try something else, Puff," Toad said. "And better hurry!"

Puffball contemplated the problem, and then snapped her "fingers." She crawled off the back porch, and went as far as the back gate. Then she crouched down, wiggled her rump, and ran straight for Toad, giving him a head butt in his bottom hard enough to push him through the pet door. Unfortunately, her calculations were a bit off, and she wound up butting Toad too hard, so not only did he get through the pet door, but he also sailed across the room.

"Whoooaaaaa!" Toad cried as he flew, and crashed right into the wall.

 _WHAM!_

"Meeee-yowww," Puffball groaned, smacking her paw over her eyes. Then she crawled through the door herself, and walked over to Toad, nudging him with her nose.

"Thanks," Toad said, sarcastically. "I _didn't_ need that! Now come on! We've got to find Koopa and get the keys!"

Puffball meowed in agreement, and motioned for Toad to follow her. Toad nodded, and the two of them ran toward the mansion's staircase. Puffball led the way to the governor's bedroom, where Koopa was sleeping soundly, and snoring loudly.

"Boy, he's _really_ sawing logs, isn't he?" Toad asked, covering his ears.

"Me-yeah!" Puffball agreed, covering her own ears. The snoring was practically deafening. Then she tapped Toad's shoulder with her paw, and pointed to Koopa's hand. Clenched in his fist was the key ring.

Toad ran over, grabbed the key ring, and tried to pull it out of Koopa's grip, but the royal reptile's grip was too tight.

"Great," he groaned. "What do we do now?"

"Meow!" Puffball cried. She jumped onto Koopa's stomach, taking great care not to wake him up. Then she waved her tail along Koopa's snout. Koopa began giggling a little, loosening his grip on the keys. Toad immediately grabbed them, and pulled, but he still couldn't wrench them from Koopa's grip.

"Great idea, Puffball," he said. "He's sure to let go of these if you keep tickling him! Way to go, kitty dude!"

"Me _ow_!" Puffball shouted, sounding offended. She gave Toad an annoyed look.

"Oh, sorry," Toad said, realizing his mistake. "I meant kitty dud _ette_."

Puffball nodded, and continued to wave her tail along Koopa's nose, hopefully tickling it enough so he'd let go of the keys. Toad grabbed the ring and held onto it, so it wouldn't fall to the floor once Koopa let go. He didn't want the noise to wake Koopa up. Unfortunately, their plan was about to blow up.

"Aaahhhh . . . . . aaaahhhhhh . . . ." Koopa said, building up a sneeze.

"Uh oh . . . ." Toad said. "He's gonna blow!"

"Meow!" Puffball shouted, and she jumped off Koopa just in time.

"Aahhh- _chooo!_ " Koopa sneezed, ultimately letting go of his key ring. Unfortunately, he also woke up.

"What the . . . ." he said, looking around the room. Then he spotted Puffball and Toad sitting on the floor, holding his keyring. Both of them gave Koopa big, toothy grins.

"Heh, heh, heh," Toad said, nervously. "Would you believe we're part of a dream?"

"No," Koopa said. "Would you believe I'm gonna make your lives a nightmare?"

"Let's get outta here!" Toad shouted, grabbing the keys, and racing out of the room as fast as he could.

"Me-yeah!" Puffball agreed, and shot out after Toad.

"Come back here, you little runts!" Koopa shouted, and he began chasing after the two heroes.

Toad and Puffball ran down the hall to the stairs with Koopa hot on their heels. They jumped onto the banister and slid down.

"Toaderonimo!" Toad called out.

"Meow!" Puffball cried (because she couldn't yell out "Geronimo" in English).

"You're not out of the woods yet, fungus face!" Koopa shouted. "I can pull that trick off, too!"

With that, Koopa climbed onto the banister, and began sliding down after Toad and Puffball. About halfway down, however, Koopa lost his balance, fell off the banister, and tumbled down the rest of the stairs. Toad and Puffball, who made it to the bottom of the stairs without any trouble, watched, and cringed. When Koopa landed at the bottom of the stairs, he was knocked unconscious, for the time being, anyway.

"Oooh, I'll bet he's gonna feel _that_ tomorrow morning!" Toad shouted.

"Me- _yeeesh_!" Puffball shouted, with a grimace.

Toad and Puffball then ran back up the stairs, taking advantage of Koopa's unconsciousness. They were going to get up to the attic first. They figured it would be easier to free the Princess and Phyllis first, rather than trying to sneak back into the mansion later. Of course, it was a pretty rough climb, since the attic was right above the third story of the mansion.

"Whew, that's a tough climb!" Toad shouted.

"Meow," Puffball agreed. Then she stood up on her hind legs, leaning against the door. Then she looked at Toad, expectantly.

"Oh yeah," Toad said. He took the key ring, and then climbed onto Puffball's shoulders, because neither of them were tall enough to reach the keyhole.

It took a couple of tries, but Toad finally found the correct key to the attic door, and unlocked it. When Princess Toadstool and Phyllis heard the lock click, they began to get nervous, thinking it was Koopa, but were immediately relieved when they saw Toad and Puffball.

"Somebody order a rescue service?" Toad asked.

"Oh Toad!" the Princess shouted, giving the mushroom a hug. "I'm so glad to see you! You too, Puffball!"

"Where are the boys?" Phyllis asked, picking up Puffball, and giving her a well deserved cuddle.

"Still in the jailhouse," Toad said. "And we'd better hurry and get them out or else they're goners! Koopa's gonna have Mario and Luigi hanged at dawn!"

"Me-yeah!" Puffball shouted. Then she pretended to hold her neck in a noose, crossed her eyes, and stuck her tongue out of the side of her mouth.

" _Glaaakkkk!_ " she shouted.

"Oh no!" the Princess shouted.

"And that ain't the worst of it!" Toad continued. "Koopa's gonna tell 'em Phyllis arranged it all!"

"We've got to get out there fast!" Phyllis shouted.

"I don't know," the Princess said. "We still have to go down four flights of stairs. And it's almost dawn now!"

Suddenly, Puffball began meowing frantically, and pointing to the window. The Princess, Toad, and Phyllis ran to the other windows to look. There was Mouser and the Troopas wheeling Koopa's gallows toward the jailhouse, and Koopa was right behind him.

"Well, at least there's one thing in our favor," Toad said. "He won't be able to unlock the jail cell without the keys, and we've got 'em!"

"Guess again," Phyllis said, pointing. Toad looked, and saw that Koopa was twirling another key ring around one of his claws. He looked up at the attic, and gave the quartet an annoyingly smug smirk.

"So how was I to know he had a spare set?" Toad asked.

"We'll never be able to get down there in time," Phyllis said.

"Oh yes we will!" Toad shouted, and he ran down the attic stairs, with the others hot on his heels. Once he got to the third floor staircase, he hopped onto the banister.

"Going down!" he shouted, and began sliding. "Wheeeeee!"

"Meeeeooooooowwwwww!" Puffball called out, following Toad's lead. Phyllis and the Princess looked at each other, shrugged, climbed onto the banister, and began sliding down themselves after Toad and Puffball.

"This isn't very lady like," Phyllis said.

"No, but it sure is fun!" Toad shouted.

It didn't take long for the foursome to reach the ground floor by sliding down the banisters, but they still had to hurry. By the time they reached the jailhouse, Koopa had let Mario and Luigi out of the cell, and had his Troopas tie them up. Now they were being led to the gallows.

"You can't do this!" Franky shouted from the cell window. "Pop did away with hanging criminals years ago!"

"It's just been reinstated," Koopa said. "Your sister insisted on it!"

"She wouldn't do that!" Franky argued. "I know she wouldn't!"

"It's no use, kiddo," Luigi sighed. "I don't think there's any way out of this for any of us."

"Don't give up yet, Luigi!" Mario shouted. "Remember, Toad's still out there! He's sure to be back with help soon!"

"Forget it, Mario," Luigi said. "It's too late."

"It certainly is," Koopa said, with evil glee. "All right, tall, green, and ugly! You're first!"

Two Troopas marched Luigi up to the platform. Koopa slipped a noose over his head and around his neck, snickering as he did. Mario couldn't stand it. He tried to run up to the platform, but two Troopas held him back.

"No! Wait!" he shouted. "Please, Koopa, if you're gonna kill us, please let me be the first one to go! I don't want to see my little brother go before I do!"

"You shoulda thought of that before you butted into my business for the umpteen millionth time, Mario!" Koopa shouted. Then he turned to Luigi. "Any last words, pipe-squeak?"

"Yeah, actually," Luigi said. "In the immortal words of Abraham Lincoln, fourscore and seven years ago our fathers brought forth . . . . ."

"Nice try, sewer scum!" Koopa interrupted.

"Well, ya can't blame a guy for trying," Luigi said, shrugging.

"Don't worry about a thing," Koopa said. "It'll all be over with quickly. Maybe."

Koopa chuckled evilly, and walked over to the lever which would open the trap door Luigi was standing on.


	8. Attack

"What can we do?" the Princess asked. "That gallows is surrounded by Troopas! We'll be caught before we have a chance to get to Luigi!"

"Give me a second," Toad said, nervously. "I'll come up with something . . . ."

"We don't have that long!" Phyllis shouted, and she raced toward the gallows as fast as she could.

"Phyllis, wait!" the Princess shouted.

Koopa grabbed the lever, and was just about to pull it, when Phyllis suddenly appeared on the platform, jumped up, and kicked Koopa with both feet so hard, he fell off the platform, landed flat on his back, and knocked himself out cold.

"Wow!" Luigi shouted, as Phyllis ran over to him and began untying him. "Remind me never to make you mad!"

"Come on, you guys!" Phyllis called to the others. "I can't take all of these goons by myself!"

Toad, the Princess, and Puffball ran over. Toad and Puffball helped Phyllis and Luigi fend off Koopa's Troopas, while the Princess untied Mario.

"Still think she's on Koopa's side, Mario?" she asked.

"Are you kidding?" Mario asked. "After she dropkicked Koopa like that, I'd be stupid to say yes!"

"Get zem!" Mouser ordered, taking charge while Koopa was incapacitated.

"Come on, Mario!" Toad shouted. "We've got Troopa tail to kick!"

Mario nodded, and he and the Princess jumped onto the platform in order to help Phyllis, Luigi, and Puffball fight off the Troopas.

"Hey Toad!" Franky called. "Throw me the keys so I can get outta here!"

"Gotcha!" Toad shouted, tossing Franky his key ring.

Immediately, Franky unlocked his cell door, raced out of the jailhouse, and karate chopped two Troopas guarding it. Then he ran around back to the gallows to help the others fight off the Troopas.

"I don't think we'll be able to keep this up much longer, Mario," Luigi said, jumping into the air, and landing on top of one of the oncoming Koopas. "We're outnumbered!"

"I think you're right," Mario said. "And Koopa should be coming to any minute now."

"I think I have an idea," Franky said, holding up the keyring. "Everybody follow me!"

"What are you up to, Franky?" Phyllis asked.

"Just trust me, sis," Franky said, giving his sister a wink.

"Last time you said that, I had neon green hair for a month," Phyllis said. "And it took a week for that make-up to wash off, too!"

"Excuse me?" Luigi asked, giving the siblings a weird look.

"Forget it," Franky said. "Look, this time, I know what I'm doing, but I can't tell you guys the details right now. Not in front of this mob! Now let's go before Lizard Lips comes to!"

The others looked over at Koopa, who was beginning to stir. Having no other choice, the group followed Franky toward the mansion. By that time, Koopa had come to his senses. He looked around, but all he saw were half of his Troopas helping up the other half.

"All right, you nincomkoops!" he yelled. "Where are those miserable Marios and their friends?!"

"Uhhh, they got away," one of the Troopas said.

"Got away?" Koopa asked. "They _got away_?! How could you let them get away?! You outnumber them!"

"Well, uhhhh . . . ." the Troopa said, trying to come up with a good excuse.

"Never mind!" Koopa shouted, smacking the Troopa away with the back of his hand. "Argh! One of these days, I'm going to trade all of you in for some decent minions!"

"If it's any help, your ruthlessness," Mouser said, stepping forward nervously. "Zey were heading for ze governor's mansion."

"The mansion, huh?" Koopa asked. "That figures. It's the only place around to go. Well, we'll just see about that! Koopa Pack! A-ten- _hut_!"

Immediately, all of Koopa's minions stood rigid and saluted their leader.

"To the mansion!" Koopa ordered. "Forwaaaaaard march! Hup two three four! Hup two three four! Hup two three four!"

While Koopa led his Troopas to the mansion, Mario, Luigi, the Princess, and the Portobello siblings were busy unlocking the chains from the citizens of Portobello Port, and then telling them to get to the governor's mansion, where Toad and Puffball were keeping a lookout.

"You sure you know what you're doing?" Luigi asked.

"Positive," Franky said. "You guys said it yourselves. Koopa doesn't have an original bone in his body. Once he finds out we got away, and are heading for the mansion, he's likely to have his troops storm the place."

"I get it," Mario said. "We're just evening up the odds a bit."

"Right," Franky said.

"I don't know about this," Luigi said. "What'll we use as weapons? They're gonna be armed, you know."

"Whatever we can get our hands on," Franky said. "Kitchen utensils, furniture pieces, that kinda thing."

"You kidding?" Luigi asked. "We'll end up destroying the mansion! Your dad'll have at least a dozen fits!"

"It might be the only way to stop Koopa," the Princess said.

"Besides," Mario said, "if we end up wrecking the place, we can put the blame on him!"

Luigi still wasn't sure this was a good idea, but before he could say anything else about it, he and the others heard Puffball meowing like a siren. She and Toad were running toward the others.

"The Koopas are coming! The Koopas are coming!" Toad called out.

"Perfect timing," Franky said, as he freed the last of the Portobello Port citizens. "It's time to party!"

Franky was off and running. The others looked at each other, shrugged, and followed. After all, they didn't have any better ideas.

Koopa and his Troopas arrived at the mansion, and were met by darkness, and a strange quiet, and he didn't like it one bit.

"It's quiet," he said. " _Too_ quiet!"

"Maybe zey're not here after all," Mouser said, growing uneasy himself.

"No, they're here all right," Koopa said, sniffing a bit. "I can smell sewer scum a mile away. They've gotta be hiding somewhere. After all, there's only six of them, and tons of us!"

"Correction, Koopa!" Mario shouted, as the lights came on, revealing him, Luigi, the Princess, Toad, the Portobello siblings, Puffball, and practically the entire city of Portobello Port standing before Koopa and his army.

"Make that tons of us, too!" Mario shouted. "Okay, everybody! Charge!"

"Koopa Pack! Attack!" Koopa shouted.

And the battle was on. Koopa's minions began charging with spears, but the citizens managed to fight back with whatever they could get their hands on in the mansion, from swords decorating suits of armor to buckets and mops. One managed to pin a Beezo to the wall by the wings with a set of kitchen knives. Mouser began charging up the staircase with some Troopas, but stopped when he saw Toad sitting on top of a grand piano at the top it. He smiled sneakily, and waved to Koopa's henchmen.

"Rock and roll, fellas!" Toad shouted.

"Rock and roll?" Mouser repeated.

"Yeah, man!" Franky shouted, as he, Mario, and Luigi pushed the piano as hard as they could, and the piano went rolling down the stairs.

"Emphasis on the roll!" Mario shouted.

"Whee-hee-hee-hee!" Toad shouted, gripping the music desk as he rolled.

"Oh nein . . . ." Mouser groaned, as the piano came closer and closer. "Oh nein, oh nein, oh nein . . . . . RETREEEEEEAAAAAT!"

Unfortunately, Mouser's command came too late, and he and the Troopas wound up bowled over by the piano. Toad jumped off just as the piano smashed into them, and it still kept going, until it crashed into the wall, two flights below, destroying it completely. Mouser and the Troopas were nearly destroyed as well. Mouser was so dazed, he gave Toad an incredibly dopey looking smile, revealing a set of piano keys instead of teeth.

"You guys are gonna be singing flat from now on!" Toad shouted. "Eee-hee-hee-hee-heeee!"

Koopa, who was hanging back during all this, trying to stay out of sight, was not amused. He didn't like seeing his troops getting trashed.

"I'll get those goody-goodies for this," he growled. Then he began to sneak his way toward the second floor. He went unnoticed due to all the chaos that was going on.

By this time, nearly all of Koopa's minions had been clobbered, and they couldn't take it any longer.

"Retreat!" one of the Troopas shouted. "Retreat! Let's get outta here while we're all still in one piece!"

"But what about the boss?" a Shyguy asked.

Before the Troopa could answer, he and the Shyguy heard someone whistle at them. They looked up and saw Princess Toadstool and Phyllis standing at the top of the second floor, steadying a large wardrobe, with a little help from several citizens.

"Uh oh . . . ." the Shyguy said.

"Run for it!" the Troopa shouted, but they didn't get anywhere. The Princess, Phyllis, and the group of citizens pushed the wardrobe over the railing, and it crashed to the main floor of the mansion, not only putting a dent in the floorboards, but also squashing the Troopa and the Shyguy flat. They managed to crawl out from underneath the wardrobe, and inch their way toward the front door, in their flattened state.

That did it. Every last one of Koopa's minions retreated from the mansion, all of them bruised and battered in some way or another. Once the last of them was gone, everyone began to cheer triumphantly.

"We did it!" Mario shouted. "The house is a little worse for wear, but at least we got rid of Koopa's stooges!"

"But what about Koopa himself?" Phyllis asked.

"I'm right here, my dear!" Koopa shouted, grabbing Phyllis by the arm, and pulling her away from the others.

"Uh oh," Mario said. "He must've snuck up here when we weren't looking."

"Naturally," the Princess said, glaring at the repulsive reptile. "He's the grand champion king of sneaks, after all!"

"You humble me, Princess," Koopa said, bowing. "And now, I must be leaving! And I wouldn't try anything funny, either, sewer scum, or something nasty might befall the pretty Miss Portobello here!"

"Oh no you don't, Koopa!" Mario shouted. "You're not gonna pull the rug out from under us this time!"

"Oooh, good idea, Mario!" Koopa shouted. He used one of his claws to cut the carpet, then grabbed it, and gave it a good, hard yank, which caused Mario, Luigi, the Princess, Toad, Franky, and Puffball to lose their footing, and tumble down the stairs, crashing into some of the debris left over from the earlier fight. The crash left them all seeing stars.

"And now, my little pretty," Koopa said to Phyllis, "let us make our exit!"

And with that, Koopa ran up the next set of stairs, practically dragging Phyllis with him, while she struggled to get out of his grip. Luigi was the first to get his wits back, just in time to see them disappear into the shadows of the next level of the mansion. He glared, stood up, and almost immediately raced after them.

"Luigi, what in the name of Sam's Pizza Parlor are you doing?!" Mario shouted.

"I'm going after Koopa!" Luigi shouted, not bothering to look back. "What's it look like I'm doing?"

" _You're_ going after Koopa?!" Toad asked, incredulously. "The world must be coming to an end!"

"Yeah, Luigi," Mario said. "You don't usually take charge like this when it comes to Koopa!"

"He must _really_ be hooked on my sister," Franky said.

"Darn right," Luigi said. "And I'm not about to let that overgrown tub of lard hurt her! I'm gonna kick his tail into next Tuesday!"

The others just stood there in shock. They had never seen Luigi this angry before. But the shock didn't last long. As soon as Mario got his wits back, he began following his brother.

"Wait for me, little brother!" he shouted. "I'm with ya on this!"

"So am I!" Franky called.

"Me too!" the Princess shouted.

"I guess that makes it unanimous," Toad said.

"Me-yeah!" Puffball shouted.

"Then it's settled," Mario said. "Let's go give that overgrown suitcase what he deserves once and for all!"


	9. Up on the Roof

Mario, Luigi, the Princess, Toad, Franky, and Puffball followed Koopa's trail up the stairs of the mansion, mostly thanks to Puffball's sense of smell. Unfortunately, when they reached the attic, they found themselves at a dead end.

"Oh great," Toad groaned. "We've lost Koopa."

"We couldn't have!" the Princess shouted. "We saw him come up the stairs this way, and Puffball sniffed him out all the way up here."

"Maybe Puffball's got a pulverized proboscis," Mario said.

"What?!" the others shouted, giving Mario a weird look.

"A busted sniffer," Mario said, shrugging. "I'm with Toad on this one, gang. We must have made a wrong turn somewhere. Koopa couldn't have come up here. There's no where to go to!"

"Not unless he jumped out the window," Luigi said.

"Hmmm . . . ." Franky said, thoughtfully. He kept staring at the wall. Then he snapped his fingers. "I got it!"

"What have you got?" Mario asked.

"Koopa went up to the roof!" Franky shouted.

"The roof?!" the others shouted.

"You off your rocker?" Toad asked. "How'd he get to the roof from here? Climb out a window and scale the outside wall?"

"Nope," Franky said, walking over to a light fixture on the wall. He pulled on it, and suddenly, the wall slid open, revealing a set of stairs.

"Holy macaroni!" Luigi shouted. "A secret passage!"

"And these stairs lead directly up to the roof," Franky said.

"How do you know that?" the Princess asked.

"I found this thing when I was ten," Franky said. "Dad and Phyllis don't even know about it. Well, at least Dad doesn't. I think Phyllis might now, come to think of it."

"Well, what are we waiting for?" Mario asked. "We've got some Koopa to kick!"

With Mario leading the way, our heroes dashed up the staircase, and opened a doorway. Just as Franky had predicted, there was Koopa, standing by the edge of the roof, holding both of Phyllis's wrists in his hands. Phyllis was struggling to pull away, but Koopa had a grip like a vice.

"What took you so long?" Koopa asked.

"Luigi!" Phyllis shouted. "Luigi, help me!"

"You . . . . you scaly slime sucker!" Luigi shouted, as he came forward. "I oughta . . . ."

"Watch it, buster," Koopa warned. "After all, we wouldn't want anything unfortunate to happen to your little girlfriend here, now would you?"

"Let her go, Koopa!" Luigi shouted.

"Oh, I'll let her go all right," Koopa said, as he lifted Phyllis slightly off the floor, and held her over the edge of the roof. "I'll let her go like this if any of you make any false moves!"

"You wouldn't dare!" Luigi shouted.

"Do you _really_ want to take the chance that I won't?" Koopa asked, sneakily.

"Oh boy, are we really up the creek this time," Luigi said, nervously.

"All right, Koopa," Mario said. "You've got the upper hand for now. What's it gonna take for you to let Phyllis go?"

"Not much," Koopa said. "All I want is Princess Toadstool to sign over the Mushroom Kingdom to me, that's all."

"Somehow, I'm not surprised," Toad said.

"Never!" the Princess shouted. "I'll never sign over my kingdom to the likes of an evil, depraved villain like you, Koopa!"

"I'd think about it if I were you," Koopa said. "After all, it's a pretty long way down to the ground from here."

Koopa then pretended to loosen his grip, and nearly allowed Phyllis to fall, just to scare the Princess and the others.

"Whoopsie," he said, in a mock sing-song tone.

"What are we going to do?" Toad asked. "You can't sign over the Mushroom Kingdom, Princess!"

"And we can't let him just drop Phyllis off the roof, either," the Princess said.

"What I wouldn't give for a Bob-omb right about now," Mario said.

"Well, my fine, feathered, fiends," Koopa said. "What's it going to be? Are you gonna sign over your kingdom, Princess, or does Blondie get a flying lesson?"

"I really don't like those choices," Mario said.

"Well, too bad, because those are the only ones you get!" Koopa shouted. "You've got five seconds to decide!"

Mario and the others looked at each other nervously. They didn't have the slightest idea what they were going to do. Puffball, on the other hand, had an idea of her own. Quietly, she snuck up on Koopa from behind, crouched, wiggled her rear, and pounced on Koopa, latching onto his neck with her back claws, and raking her front claws across the top of his head.

"YEEEEOOOOOOUCH!" Koopa shouted at the top of his lungs.

Koopa ultimately let go of Phyllis, but he was so surprised by the sudden attack, he wound up accidentally throwing her to the side, causing her to land on the opposite side of roof. Immediately, Luigi ran over, and helped her up.

"You okay?" he asked.

"Yes," Phyllis said. "I think so."

"You won't be for long, Blondie!" Koopa shouted, as he managed to rip Puffball off of him, and tossed her to the side. Luckily, she landed on her feet.

"And after I deal with all of you," Koopa continued, pulling a sword out of his shell, "I'll deal with that albino fleabag!"

Koopa raised his sword, and brought it down quickly, but Luigi pulled out a pipe wrench and blocked the attack. Koopa growled, and continued to try to strike, but Luigi kept blocking the blows with the wrench. He also tried hitting Koopa with it, but the large reptile was easily blocking the plumber's attacks.

"Yo, Mario!" Luigi called. "I could use a little help, here!"

"Right, bro!" Mario shouted, taking a plunger out of his overalls. He aimed, and threw it as hard as he could. It landed directly on Koopa's snout, causing the royal reptile to drop his sword, as the plunger became stuck.

"Hey!" he shouted. "Get this thing off me!"

"Sure thing," Mario said. He grabbed his plunger, and yanked. Koopa's nose was pulled forward quite a bit before the plunger came loose.

 _POP!_

Koopa's nose then snapped back into place, and vibrated a little bit. He grabbed it to stop the movement, but the minute his guard was down, Franky jumped up, and gave the repulsive reptile a karate kick right in the stomach.

"Hiyah!" he shouted.

"Ow!" Koopa shouted, as he hit the ground.

"Take that, Koopa Stoopa!" Toad shouted.

"Wait'll I get my hands on you, you little fungus!" Koopa shouted, getting up.

"Not if I can help it, Lizard Lips!" Franky shouted. He grabbed Koopa by the tail, and managed to flip him over his shoulder, karate style.

"Hah!" he shouted.

"Yaaahhhh!" Koopa shouted as he flew, and then crash landed on the floor.

 _WHAM!_

"Fran _ky_!" Phyllis shouted, sounded a bit exasperated. "Why in the world didn't you use your karate skills when Koopa attacked the _first_ time?!"

"Because he had his Stoopa Troopas with him the first time," Franky said. "I was outnumbered! I'm only a blue belt, sis, cut me a break!"

"I'll cut you a break all right!" Koopa shouted, swinging his tail at our heroes. Everyone jumped in different directions to avoid it. Koopa swung his tail again, and managed to smack Franky in the side of the head with it, knocking him to the floor.

"Ack!" he shouted, once he landed, hitting the other side of his head. He wasn't knocked out, but he was too dazed to move.

"All right, you little brat!" Koopa shouted. "I'm gonna take care of you first! I'm gonna squash you like the little bug you are!"

Koopa gently placed his foot against Franky's head, and smiled wickedly, preparing to slowly, and painfully crush the teenager's skull. Phyllis ran up to him, grabbed his arm, and tried to pull him away.

"Don't you dare!" she shouted. Koopa glared at her, and shoved her aside, as hard as he could, causing her to fall to the floor.

"Back off, Blondie!" Koopa shouted. "Your bratty brother has been a thorn in my side the minute I got here! I'm gonna take care of him once and for all!"

"No!" Phyllis cried.

"Shame on you, Koopa!" the Princess shouted.

"Yeah, picking on a kid like that!" Toad shouted. "Why dontcha pick on someone your own size?!"

"That would be difficult, mush mouth," Koopa said. "There's nobody here my size! Say bye-bye to your baby brother, Blondie! 'Cause when I'm through with him, you're next!"

Koopa laughed evilly, and applied a little pressure to his foot. Franky groaned, and tried to get up, but he couldn't. Mario was about to rush forward, when Koopa held up his hand to stop him.

"Anybody tries being a hero," he warned, "and I stomp his head in one fell swoop! And you know I'll do it, Mario!"

Mario immediately skid to a halt. Koopa smirked, and continued to add the pressure slowly, and painfully. Phyllis let out a scream, and covered her eyes with her hands. Luigi put his arm around her shoulders.

"You won't get away with this, Koopa!" he shouted.

"That's where you're wrong, Greenie!" Koopa shouted. "I already have!"

Koopa laughed, and was about to apply the final crushing blow to Franky's skull. Puffball could stand this no more. She arched her back, flattened her ears, bared both teeth and claws, hissed, and jumped on Koopa, absolutely furious. She let out a deafening screech, and began clawing the reptile king's head in such rage, she actually began drawing blood! Nobody messed with her Franky and got away with it!

"Ow! Ouch! Ow! Hey!" Koopa shouted, stumbling backwards. "Get offa me, you overgrown drain clog!"

"Atta way to go, Puffball!" Mario shouted.

"Go get 'em, kitty!" Luigi shouted. "You show that overgrown turtle who's boss!"

"Yay, Puffball!" the Princess shouted.

"Puffball! Puffball! She's our cat!" Toad cheered. "She's gonna stomp that Koopa flat!"

Koopa tried to swat at her, but she was clawing at biting at him so hard, all he could do was stumble around. He managed to stumble toward the edge of the roof, and when Puffball noticed this, she jumped off, kicking Koopa in the head as she did, which threw off his balance.

"Oh noooooo!" Koopa shouted, and he fell, but managed to grab the edge of the roof, and dig his fingers in.

"Ha, ha!" Franky laughed, as he and the others ran to Koopa, hanging on for dear life. "Who's got the last laugh now, Lizard Lips?"

And with that, Franky stomped on one of Koopa's hands, and twisted his foot back and forth, as if he were putting out a cigarette.

"Yeow!" Koopa shouted, pulling his hand out from under Franky's shoe, but that turned out to be a mistake, since he was now only hanging by one hand.

"Hmmmm . . . . ." Franky said, thoughtfully, and lifted his foot, ready to stomp on Koopa's other hand. "I wonder what Koopa pancakes would taste like?"

"Franklin Portobello, you are dis _gust_ ing!" Phyllis scolded.

"Just a thought," Franky said, shrugging. "What do you guys think?"

"Yeah!" Toad shouted. "Let's make a pancake outta this dude!"

"Y-y-you wouldn't just let me fall, would you?!" Koopa shouted. "You're the heroes! You just _can't_ let me fall to my death like this! Save me!"

"After everything you've put us through?" Toad asked. "And not just here at Portobello Port, either! Not a chance, Koopa! I say let him fall!"

"Nah," Mario said. "I can't do it. Not even to Koopa. Come on, Luigi. Let's give him a hand."

"You'll be sorry!" Toad warned.

Mario and Luigi ignored Toad, grabbed Koopa by the wrists, and pulled him back up to the roof. Koopa was so winded from Puffball's attack, all he could do was lie flat on his stomach, and kiss the floor of the roof, happy to be on solid ground again. While Koopa was occupied, Luigi ran over to Phyllis.

"I think everything's going to be fine now," he said.

"I think so, too," Phyllis said, smiling.

Luigi and Phyllis smiled at each other for a few moments, and then leaned in closer, ready to kiss, but before they could, Koopa suddenly appeared before them with a fierce growl.

"I'm gonna rip the lot of you to shreds!" he yelled.

"Oh no you don't!" Luigi shouted, putting himself between Phyllis and Koopa. He pulled out his pipe wrench and hit Koopa in the head with it as hard as he could.

 _BONK!_

While Koopa was stumbling around in a daze, Puffball suddenly jumped him, and kicked him in the stomach with all four of her legs as hard as she could.

"Me-yah!" she shouted, mimicking a stereotypical karate yell.

Koopa lost his footing completely, and fell over the edge of the roof, not having a chance to grab the edge this time. He wound up crash landing into a wheelbarrow full of hay. But the minute he landed, he felt a stinging sensation in his rear end, and jolted upwards. He ended up landing on a needle that was buried in the haystack.

"YEEEEEOOOOOOOOWWWWW!" he screamed. This time, his landing wasn't so soft. He wound up doing a belly flop right on the ground.

 _CRASH!_

"I hate those plumbers," he said, dazedly.

"Come on," Mario said. "Let's go round him up once and for all!"

The others agreed, and followed Mario to the secret passage in order to get down to the ground floor without killing themselves. They figured Koopa would be dazed long enough for them to get there. Unfortunately, they were wrong. Koopa had gotten his wits back by this time, and he had one more trick up his sleeve. He pulled a Bob-omb out of his shell, and lit it.

"This oughta take care of them," he said, as he threw it at the front porch, just as our heroes opened the door.

"Uh oh!" Mario shouted. "A Bob-omb!"

"Meow!" Puffball shouted. She turned around, and kicked the Bob-omb like a mule, which sent it flying.

"Bob-ombs away!" Franky called out, as the Bob-omb exploded.

"Way to go, Puffball!" the Princess shouted, picking up the white cat, and giving her a cuddle. Puffball rubbed against the Princess and purred.

"Come on!" Mario shouted. "Koopa's getting away!"

"We'll be sure to catch him this time!" the Princess shouted.


	10. The Governor's Return

The group chased Koopa all the way to the docks. Koopa growled, and pulled another Bob-omb out of his shell.

"Hold it, you plunger heads!" he shouted. "One more step, and I'll blow up the entire town, and everyone in it! I've got plenty more Bob-ombs where this came from!"

"Now what do we do?" Phyllis asked. "We can't let him destroy the whole town!"

"Looks like we're stuck," Mario said.

Koopa laughed, thinking he won, when the group suddenly heard a blast, and a cannon ball came flying through the air, and beaned him right in the head.

"Ow!" he shouted.

"Where did _that_ come from?" Luigi asked.

"Probably the same place as those other cannon balls are coming from," Toad said.

The others looked, and saw a small fleet of ships firing cannon balls at the docks. When they realized this, they began panicking.

"Cannon balls?!" they all yelled in unison.

"Let's get outta here!" Franky shouted.

"Good idea!" Mario shouted. "Gangway!"

Our heroes ran for cover, as cannon balls rained down on the docks. Most of them were hitting Koopa however.

"I've had enough of this!" he shouted, taking a flask out of his shell. "No way I'm sticking around and waiting to have my clock cleaned! As the old saying goes, he who Koops and runs away lives to Koop another day!"

And with that, Koopa threw the flask into a wall, and a hole opened up in it.

"Oh no!" the Princess shouted. "Koopa's escaping through another warp zone!"

"Not again!" Luigi groaned.

"Stop him!" Toad shouted.

Mario jumped out of his hiding place and, trying to avoid the cannon balls, made a flying leap for Koopa, but he wasn't able to catch him before he climbed into the warp zone, and it started closing up.

"Too late, shower scum!" Koopa shouted, as the warp zone disappeared, laughing maniacally.

"Darn it!" Mario shouted. "He got away again!"

"Yeah, but we've got bigger things to worry about!" Luigi shouted. "INCOMING!"

"Yikes!" Mario shouted, and dove out of the way just as another cannon ball came crashing down. He regrouped with the others just in time.

"That was a close one," he said.

"How are we going to get those ships to stop firing at us?" Franky asked, holding Puffball close.

"I think there's only one thing we _can_ do, paisano," Mario said. He pulled a handkerchief out of his pocket, tied it to a wrench, raised it over his head, and began waving it.

"You sure that's a good idea?" Toad asked.

"I don't know what else we can do," Mario said, shrugging.

"Mario's right," the Princess said. "We don't have any other choice, except surrendering."

The firing stopped, and the boats docked. People started disembarking, and both Phyllis and Franky heaved sighs of relief, when they saw most of them were wearing naval uniforms.

"It's okay, you guys," Phyllis said. "They're on our side!"

"You sure?" Luigi asked.

"Positive," Franky said. "They're part of Dad's naval fleet."

The group stepped out of their hiding place, and approached the men disembarking the ships. Before anyone could say anything, Puffball suddenly meowed happily, jumped out of Franky's arms, and darted straight toward a tall man with scraggly silver hair and a scraggly looking beard, and wearing tattered clothes. Immediately, she began purring, and rubbing against his legs. The man smiled, picked her up, and began stroking her from ears to tail.

"Hello, Puffball," he said. "What are you doing all the way down here?"

Puffball merely closed her eyes, smiled, and began purring louder. Phyllis suddenly smiled, and tears began forming in her eyes.

"Father!" she shouted, happily.

Immediately, Phyllis and Franky ran over to the man, and threw their arms around him. Puffball had to climb onto the man's shoulder to avoid getting squished. Without missing a beat, the man wrapped his arms around Phyllis and Franky, and held them close.

"That's their dad?" Toad asked. "The governor of Portobello Port?"

"What's the matter, Toad?" the Princess asked.

"He doesn't look much like a governor to me!" Toad shouted.

"You gotta remember, Phyllis told us her dad's ship got caught in a big storm," Mario said. "He was probably stranded for who knows how long. We don't know how long Koopa had this place under siege."

Toad had to agree with that. Shortly afterward, Phyllis and Franky walked over to the quartet with their father right behind them.

"Father, these are the people who helped us save Portobello Port from King Koopa," Phyllis said. "Mario, Luigi, Princess Toadstool, and Toad. Everybody, this is our father, Philip Portobello, the governor of Portobello Port."

"Nice to meet you, Governor," Mario said, shaking the governor's hand.

"Yeah, Phyllis and Franky have told us a lot about you," Luigi said.

"We're just sorry that Koopa Stoopa got away again," Toad said.

"Don't worry about it, Toad," the Princess said. "We'll get him someday."

"In the meantime," Philip said, "I'd say your victory over Koopa calls for a celebration."

"Yeah, man!" Franky shouted. "Party time!"

"Sounds good to me," Mario said. "Especially if there's a celebration feast involved! And the feast involves spaghetti, ravioli, tortellini, linguine, a pizza with everything, and of course, garlic ice cream and pepperoni cheesecake!"

"Garlic ice cream?" Phyllis repeated.

"Pepperoni cheesecake?" Franky asked, making a face.

"Me- _yeeeccchhhh_!" Puffball shouted, disgustedly.

Luigi, Toad, and the Princess began laughing at Puffball's reaction to Mario's two favorite desserts. They couldn't help themselves. Her look of disgust was just so cute.

Later that evening, the entire town of Portobello Port, along with Mario, Luigi, Princess Toadstool, and Toad were in the ballroom of the governor's mansion for the victory party. However, Mario, Luigi, and Toad weren't too happy about it, considering it was formal, and they had to wear tuxedos.

"I hate fancy parties!" Toad shouted, tugging on his bowtie. "They're no fun!"

"Especially when they make you wear these penguin suits," Mario said.

"Yeah, I wish they'd let us wear our overalls," Luigi said. "Not to mention our work boots. These dress shoes are _killing_ me!"

"Oh stop complaining," the Princess said. "Getting dressed up for one night isn't going to kill you!"

"Says you, Princess," Toad said. "I think this bowtie's gonna choke me to death!"

"I wonder where Phyllis, Franky, and the governor are?" Mario asked. "I haven't seen them here yet."

"Here they come now," the Princess said, pointing to the top of the stairs.

Phyllis, Franky, their father, and Puffball began to come down the stairs. The governor was now clean-shaven, and his hair was noticeably shorter. Phyllis had her hair in a ponytail tied with a blue ribbon, which matched her long, blue velvet dress. She was also wearing a pair of short, white gloves. Franky was wearing a green jacket, gray pants, and black dress shoes. Even Puffball was a bit more formal. Instead of her collar, she wore a big, pink, satin bow around her neck. As the four of them descended the stairs, Franky climbed up onto the banister, and slid down to the ballroom floor. Phyllis covered her eyes with her hand, and groaned loudly.

"So much for a dignified entrance," Mario said to him.

"Dignity is not in this boy's vocabulary," Philip said, as he and Phyllis walked over to our heroes. "Personally, I think he's just going through a phase."

"Oh really?" the Princess asked.

"Yeah," Phyllis said. "He's been going through this annoying phase for the past sixteen years."

"Oh hardy har har, sis," Franky said, sarcastically.

"Never mind," Philip said. "Franklin, go get the box for me, would you, please?"

"Okay, Pop," Franky said.

While Franky was doing this, Philip took one of the punch cups from the table, and tapped it with a fork to get everyone's attention. Everyone in the room stopped what they were doing, and turned toward the governor.

"May I have your attention, please?" he asked, as Franky returned with the box. "In recognition of the valiant efforts in saving Portobello Port, I hereby award the Mario Brothers, Princess Toadstool, and Toad, the Order of the Golden Mushroom!"

The room exploded with cheers and applause as Philip took four golden medals shaped like portobello mushrooms, and placed them around our heroes' necks.

"All just part of our job, Governor," Mario said.

"I have another reward for you, Luigi," Phyllis said. "Since you were mostly responsible for rescuing me from Koopa's clutches."

"Oh really?" Luigi asked. "What is it?"

Phyllis practically grabbed Luigi by the shoulders and gave him the biggest kiss she could muster right on the lips. When she pulled away, Luigi's pupils became heart-shaped and began pulsating, and steam whistled out of his ears. He heaved a heavy sigh, and fell to the floor, flat on his back.

"Luigi!" Mario shouted. "Are you all right? Speak to me!"

"Holy ravioli . . . . ." he said, somewhat dazedly, as he was left seeing stars.

"Oh yeah," Toad said. "He's all right. He'll probably be out of it for awhile, but he's _def_ initely all right!"

"How long do you think he'll be out of it?" Mario asked.

"By the looks of it," Toad said, looking at Luigi carefully, "I'd say about three or four days."

"Well," Mario said, shrugging. "I guess that's amore!"

Mario and the others began laughing, much like they did whenever they finished up an adventure.

THE END


End file.
